Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to implement the EITI and recently issued its 14th EITI Report. During the Caspian oil and gas conference in Baku 6-7 June 2011, HE Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan Republic committed to the continued push for transparency and implementation of the EITI.
Coinciding with the Caspian oil and gas conference, the governments of Azerbaijan and Norway hosted a meeting about transparency in the oil and gas sector and on the implementation of the EITI. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway presided over the seminar and emphasised that Azerbaijan and Norway “share the vision of making the EITI a global norm". His speech can be found at the website of the Norwegian Royal Court.
Jonas Moberg, Head of the EITI International Secretariat, concluded that transparency and accountability require continued effort. “When countries like Azerbaijan and Norway became EITI Compliant that should not be understood to mean that the job is done,” he said.
A few days before the conference, civil society organisations had issued a statement expressing concern about recent “stagnation noticed in the recent application of EITI initiative in Azerbaijan”. The Government responded that there were “unreasonable expectations from the NGO Coalition”.
On 20 June, Azerbaijan published its 14th EITI report disclosing company payments and government revenues from the extractive sector in the period January - December 2010. The report, prepared by Moore Stephens, covers revenues from oil, gas, silver and gold industries. It shows that the government received US$ 2 billion and in-kind revenues of 215 million barrels of oil and 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas. The Azerbaijan MSG is currently reviewing the report. Previously Azerbaijan issued reports twice a year. The MSG recently resolved to issue only annual reports.
For further information about EITI implemenation in Azerbaijan, please contact Regional Director Sam Bartlett at the EITI International Secretariat.
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