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Azerbaijan commemorates 31 years since landmark “Contract of the Century”

20 September 2025 00:00 (UTC +04:00)

It has been 31 years since the signing of the "Contract of the Century," APA reports.

September 20 marks the anniversary of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the development of the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) oil fields in Azerbaijan’s national sector of the Caspian Sea, widely known as the “Contract of the Century,” as well as Oil Workers’ Day.

The designation of this day as a professional holiday was formalized by a decree of Azerbaijan’s National Leader Heydar Aliyev on August 16, 2001. On Oil Workers’ Day, achievements in the sector are reviewed, key issues are discussed, and workers and specialists who have shown exceptional service and dedication are awarded honorary titles, orders, and medals by presidential decrees.

The designation of this day as a professional holiday for workers in the sector is linked to the signing of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the joint development of the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) fields in Baku on September 20, 1994, between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and 11 foreign oil companies from six countries. Initially signed for a 30-year term, the ACG agreement was ratified by the Milli Majlis (Parliament) on December 12, 1994, and came into force on December 14, 1994. This agreement was the first major investment by Western multinational companies in any former Soviet republic and is famously known as the “Contract of the Century.”

Azerbaijan Contract of the Century Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli ACG oil industry oil workers SOCAR energy sector Production Sharing Agreement Oil Workers’ Day Caspian Sea foreign investment milestone anniversary