BP's Hayward Reiterates Commitment To Azerbaijan Projects

6th Jul 2010 12:53

MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--BP PLC's (BP) Chief Executive Tony Hayward Tuesday reiterated his company's commitment to Azerbaijan, where the company operates the huge Shah Deniz field. "Hayward reiterated BP's commitment to Azerbaijan and to the continuing successful cooperation with the government and (Azeri state oil company) Socar," BP said in a statement, following a one-day visit to the Central Asian state. BP has a 25.5% stake in Shah Deniz located in the Caspian Sea, which is the largest natural gas field in Azerbaijan. Hayward's visit follows meetings in Moscow last week and comes amid speculation the company may sell some assets to pay for oil spill damage in the Gulf of Mexico. Hayward said Shah Deniz represents "one of the most important projects in BP and as operator the company was looking forward to progressing it at pace." Russian natural-gas monopoly OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) is interested in buying U.K. energy giant BP's stake in Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea, if the stake is offered for sale, Gazprom's Chief Executive Alexei Miller said last month. -By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232 9197; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 06, 2010 07:53 ET (11:53 GMT)