SOCAR AQS and KCA Deutag announce historic Caspian JV
SOCAR AQS and KCA Deutag today announce that they have reached an agreement to form a joint venture that will target existing and future opportunities in the offshore and onshore Caspian drilling and engineering market.
The joint venture, which will be jointly owned and managed, will be called Turan Drilling & Engineering Company LLC (A KCA Deutag and SOCAR AQS Company).
Turan Drilling & Engineering Company LLC will create an excellent platform for our businesses to work together to grow our operations in Azerbaijan, combining KCA Deutag’s expertise as one of the world’s leading drilling and engineering contractors with SOCAR AQS’s unrivalled knowledge, experience and infrastructure in the Caspian region.
The Joint Venture will be based in Baku, Azerbaijan and will focus on business development in the provision of oil and gas well drilling and engineering services in the Caspian Offshore and certain other parts of the Central Asia region. It will be uniquely positioned to provide world class services to meet the growing demand for such.
Turan Drilling & Engineering Company LLC will be committed to investing in the local community through the employment and development of Azerbaijani nationals and services.
Commenting on today’s announcement KCA Deutag CEO Norrie McKay said: “This is an exciting step in the group’s strategy to develop our business in the Caspian region. It brings together two businesses with complementary skillsets, which we believe will strengthen our offering to clients, and enable us to jointly expand our footprint in the region.”
The KCA Deutag group currently employs approximately 780 people in Azerbaijan, 79% (seventy nine per cent) of whom are Azerbaijani nationals. The group has been operating in the country since 1995 when it was awarded its first drilling contract and has a twenty year history of working in Azerbaijan providing design, construction support, platform services, commissioning and brownfield engineering services through its RDS and Offshore business units.
Mr. Nasib Hasanov, the founder of Nobel Oil Services, the major shareholder of SOCAR AQS, said, in high appreciation of the establishment of the new joint venture. “Over the years of its operation, SOCAR AQS has achieved considerable achievements. As a result of its successful performance, the company has proven itself as a reliable partner. The establishment of this joint venture with KCA Deutag will create new opportunities for business development. I believe our cooperation will be mutually beneficial and our clients will be able to receive even more advanced services.”
