Pakistan, Azerbaijan to setup Joint working group on Energy: Ghulam Sarwar

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan said on Wednesday that Pakistan and Azerbaijan will constitute a joint working group on Energy.

He said this during a meeting with Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Ali Alizadai at his office in the federal capital.

According to a statement released from the ministry, Azerbaijan is interested in investing in LNG sector through State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

The two sides had entered into an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) in February 2017 for supply of a number of oil and gas products, including furnace oil, petrol, diesel and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Both countries are now expected to formally sign a commercial agreement this February on arrival of Azerbaijan’s foreign minister in Islamabad.

On the occasion, Ghulam Sarwar said that the petroleum division would try its best to get that agreement ratified from ECC and cabinet so that mutual relation between both countries could be strengthened.

The ambassador mentioned that SOCAR’s activities included exploration of oil and gas, production, processing and transportation of oil, natural gas and gas condensate as well as marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets.

He said that Azerbaijan’s daily production of crude oil was approximately 860,000 barrels per day (bpd) and its annual gas production was approximately 29.4 billion cubic feet.

Ali Alizadai also invited the minster to Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference in Azerbaijan on 29th May, 2019.