Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met bp Chief Executive Officer Meg O’Neill in Baku on Tuesday, with discussions focusing on long-standing energy cooperation, ongoing projects and future prospects between the company and Azerbaijan’s state energy firm SOCAR.

President Aliyev congratulated O’Neill on her appointment and expressed confidence that the successful partnership between SOCAR and bp would continue under her leadership, News.Az reports, citing the presidential website.

He noted that Azerbaijan and bp have maintained a “unique partnership” for more than three decades, adding that revenues from jointly implemented projects have been largely directed towards the country’s socio-economic development.

President Aliyev said the number of projects between Azerbaijan and bp continues to increase, describing the cooperation as “strategic in nature” and mutually beneficial.

For her part, O’Neill said she was honoured to be in Baku and thanked the Azerbaijani side for the congratulations on her appointment. She highlighted what she described as the “visionary leadership” of Azerbaijan’s late national leader Heydar Aliyev and President Ilham Aliyev in ensuring that oil and gas revenues were channelled into national development, including infrastructure and urban projects in Baku.

President Aliyev noted that while in some countries oil revenues can contribute to social inequality, in Azerbaijan they have supported broader development. He recalled the signing of the “Contract of the Century” in the early years of independence and said Azerbaijan had faced severe economic and humanitarian challenges following the First Karabakh War, when the state budget was “virtually zero”.

He said attracting major international energy companies had been essential for stabilising the economy and developing the country, and expressed gratitude to bp for its early involvement and continued cooperation.

The meeting also reviewed bp’s activities in Azerbaijan, including renewable energy initiatives and projects in territories recently retaken by Azerbaijan. The sides further discussed Azerbaijan’s role in Europe’s energy security and exchanged views on expanding SOCAR–bp cooperation.

News.Az