Hungary's MOL Group agreed to purchase a 9.57% stake in Azerbaijan's largest strategic asset; the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli (ACG) oil field and also a 8.9% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline that transports crude oil from Azerbaijan to the Ceyhan port in Turkey, according to a MOL Group statement on Monday.
MOL signed the agreement with Chevron Global Ventures Ltd. and Chevron BTC Pipeline Ltd. to acquire interests in the projects, the statement said.
The supergiant ACG field is Azerbaijan’s flagship oil producing asset. The MOL Group will team up with BP, Exxon, Equinor and SOCAR in the asset.
After the purchase completion, MOL will be the third largest field partner in the ACG, the statement read.
The total transaction is expected to be $1.57 billion, which will be financed from available liquidity of the MOL Group.
Transaction completion is expected in the second quarter next year when MOL will add around 20,000 barrels per day to net group production, MOL stated.
'It is also in line with MOL Group’s 2030 strategy to maintain the resilient, integrated business model,' the statement read.
BP operates the ACG field with a 30.4% stake, while further stakes are held by SOCAR at 25.0%, Chevron with 9.57%, INPEX with 9.3%, Equinor with 7.3%, Exxon with 6.8%, TPAO with 5.7%, Itochu with 3.7% and ONGC with 2.3%.
The 1,768 kilometers-long BTC pipeline serves as the main transport route for oil produced by ACG from Baku, Azerbaijan, through Georgia to the deep-water port facilities at Ceyhan, Turkey on the Mediterranean Sea.
By Nuran Erkul Kaya
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr