The Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), operated by BP, today announced the successful completion of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) Project Community Investment Programme (CIP) for the Bibi-Heybat area, where construction works for the Central Azeri Compression and Water Injection Platform (C&WP) were undertaken in the ATA (Amec, Tekfen and Azfen consortium) yard.
The ACG C&WP Community Investment Programme for Bibi-Heybat was launched in mid-March 2004, when a grant agreement was signed with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for implementation of $400,000 CIP activities in Bibi-Heybat on behalf of ACG partners.
The parties to the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) Production Sharing Agreement are: BP (operator - 34.1%), Unocal (10.3%), SOCAR (10%), INPEX (10.0%), Statoil (8,6%), ExxonMobil (8%), TPAO (6.8%), Devon (5.6%), Itochu (3.9%), Amerada Hess (2.7%).
The goal of the C&WP Community Investment Programme was to help ensure sustainable social and economic development for the Bibi-Heybat community through multi-sector, community-based initiatives that strengthen community institutions, build leadership and technical capacity, and improve social and economic infrastructure. These have included a series of micro-projects for rehabilitation of the electricity supply system in Bibi-Heybat, construction of a health care facility and its provision with equipment, construction of a school gym, construction of a first aid station, rehabilitation of a culture centre, renovation of the Bibi Heybat secondary school, rehabilitation of the electricity system of an Internally Displaced Persons settlement, construction of a community centre, a kindergarten and a community park.
The total cost of the micro-projects was 232,000 AZN (approximately $254,000), of which 27,800 AZN (approximately $30,000) was contributed by the community members with support from the local municipality and executive authorities.
Nigar Garibova, ACG - C&WP CIP Manager, said: “In addition, the programme included a range of activities from identification and training of locally-elected community leaders, sector specific trainings, community level project implementation to mentoring and technical assistance for community leaders to improve their capacity to organize and manage community development activities. The programme also focused on developing relationships between community leaders and local municipal councillors and executive authorities to jointly identify and address the community’s priority needs. Some 1,850 people directly benefited from the programme, which utilized a participatory approach with the view that the programme activities should involve an element to promote development of community leadership and democratic decision-making skills. From that perspective, we believe that people of Bibi-Heybat will enjoy the results of this programme for many years to come.“
Note to Editors: This press release also has a fact-sheet attachment containing detailed information about all activities this 2-year ACG C&WP Community Investment Programme has delivered.
Tamam Bayatly at BP’s Press Office in Baku, telephone: 994 (0) 12 599 4557