The
memorandum of understanding (MOU) for exploring the Shafag-Asiman structures was signed on July 13, 2009. According to the initial agreement, the offshore block will be jointly developed by
BP and
State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). The MOU was signed by the President of SOCAR,
Rovnag Abdullayev and Chief Executive of Exploration and Production of BP,
Andy Inglis in the presence of
President of Azerbaijan,
Ilham Aliyev and former
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
Gordon Brown. The MOU was followed by signing of
Heads of Agreement on basic commercial principles on joint exploration and development of the fields by Rovnag Abdullayev and President of BP Azerbaijan,
Rashid Javanshir, on July 6, 2010, during the visit of the President of BP,
Tony Hayward, to Azerbaijan. The
production sharing agreement for development and exploration of Shafag-Asiman block covers a period of thirty years with potential extension of up to five more years. The first two exploration wells will be drilled within the next four years with possible extension of exploration works for three more years. All costs for exploration works will be covered by BP. Development of the Shafag-Asiman block is considered by some as extension of
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) project, operated by BP. The first exploration well was spudded on the 13th January of 2020 with completion of drilling in March of 2021. The
Turkish Petroleum Corporation(TPAO) the production sharing agreement with a 30% share in 2025, reducing BP and SOCAR share to 35% each. ==Reservoir==