BP CEO Murray Auchinclos sent a congratulatory message to Ilham Aliyev and assured that the company “is always committed to its energy projects in Azerbaijan, is ready to strengthen the long-term partnership with the government and Socar”. The so-called “contract of the century” expires at the end of this year. BP is the largest participant in the international consortium for the production and export of oil from the Caspian basin, which accounts for almost a third of the profits, but it has also made the largest investments.
There is an opinion that a new contract will be signed until 2050. Information was spread in the press that Azerbaijan is preparing for “great privatization”. It is supposed to also refer to Socar, which is state-owned only in a formal sense, but actually belongs to the ruling family, has an independent budget and a separate “treasury”. The remark of the BP CEO that they are ready to strengthen the long-term partnership with the Azerbaijani government and Socar should be understood, perhaps, in the sense of the promise of additional investments.
Earlier, the sources of the Azerbaijani exile in Europe hinted that Ilham Aliyev’s special representative is conducting secret negotiations with the management of BP in order to convince the British Prime Minister Sunak to lobby in favor of Aliyev in relations with the European Union. How reliable or at least close to the truth is this information – it is difficult to say.
London’s response to Azerbaijan’s extraordinary presidential elections deserves attention. While the United States was satisfied with the social media post of the embassy in Baku, Great Britain addressed Aliyev’s re-election with the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The British Foreign Ministry takes as a basis the preliminary conclusion of the OSCE Bureau of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and emphasizes that the extraordinary presidential elections of Azerbaijan “were practically closed and non-competitive”.
Assuring that Azerbaijan is an “important partner” of Great Britain, official London urges Baku to publicly confirm “commitment to democratic reforms and take consistent steps.” From what has been said, can it be assumed that Aliyev has assured the British government through BP and other channels that he will “implement reforms” after the early presidential elections, and London is using the opportunity to partially publicize these discussions?
It seems that the statement of the British Foreign Ministry is addressed to the European partners, so that they do not have doubts about “separate agreements” between London and Baku. On the other hand, London, at the level of BP’s chief executive officer, promises to “strengthen the long-term partnership”. What will Aliyev propose? He stated that Azerbaijan will turn into a source of “green energy” in the coming decades. Is this a New Deal proposal for the energy-strapped European Union? Is Aliyev handing over the oil and gas sector to BP? Is the UK insuring him instead?
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