In the Spring 1994 issue of Azerbaijan International, we reported on the progress of Azerbaijan's negotiations with the Western Oil Consortium.
Further developments follow.
Azerbaijan and a Consortium of foreign oil companies signed a production sharing contract in Baku's Gulistan Palace to develop Azerbaijan's Caspian oil reserves. The only remaining barriers are the ratification of the contract by the Azerbaijan Parliament and approval of the contract by the boards of the companies comprising the Consortium. Once ratified and implemented, the agreement is certain to transform the economy, political standing, and standard of living in Azerbaijan for decades to come. It will be one of the greatest projects in the history of Azerbaijan. The agreement brings full circle the recognition of Azerbaijan as the birthplace of the international oil industry, the subsequent demise of the oil industry due to Soviet mismanagement, the premature conclusion on the part of the Western companies that Azerbaijan's oil had been depleted, and the ultimate comeback of Azerbaijan as a leading world supplier of light sweet crude petroleum.