Pakistan, Azerbaijan to constitute JWG on Energy: Ghulam Sarwar

ISLAMABAD, Jan 30 (APP):Pakistan and Azerbaijan would constitute a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Energy for
which a formal signing of the commercial agreement was expected next month, Minister
for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan said Wednesday.
During a meeting with ambassador of Azerbaijan Ali Alizada here, the minister said
the Petroleum Division would make maximum efforts to get this agreement ratified from
the Economic Coordination Committee and the Federal Cabinet.
According to a Petroleum Division press release, “both the countries are expected
to formally sign a commercial agreement this February on arrival of Azerbaijan Foreign
Minister in Islamabad.”
The minister expressed the confidence that bilateral relations would further strengthen
with each passing day.
The two countries 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).
Azerbaijan is also interested to invest in LNG sector of Pakistan through State Oil
Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).
The envoy said the 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.
It also operates a wide network of petrol stations in Ukraine, Romania, Georgia,
Switzerland and Azerbaijan under its brand name.
Azerbaijan’s daily production of crude oil is approximately 860,000 barrels per day (bpd)
and its annual gas production is approximately 29.4 billion cubic feet.
This makes the SOCAR a predominant player in its core region as well as an invaluable
trade partner in the global market. The ambassador invited the minister to attend Caspian Oil
& Gas Exhibition and Conference in Azerbaijan, scheduled to be held on May 29.