Netherlands returns 3,500-year-old looted sculpture to Egypt
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In the first nine months of this year, 10.2 billion cubic metres of gas were produced from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) block in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, according to operational data released by the Ministry of Energy.
Compared with the same period in 2024, gas output from ACG rose by 0.4 billion cubic metres, or 4.1%.
Overall, 38.2 billion cubic metres of natural gas were produced in Azerbaijan during January–September, an increase of 1.1 billion cubic metres, or 2.96%, compared with the same period last year.
From the Shah Deniz field, 20.9 billion cubic metres of gas were extracted, up 0.4 billion cubic metres, or 1.95%, year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the Absheron field produced 1.2 billion cubic metres, a rise of 0.1 billion cubic metres, or 9.1%, compared with the same period in 2024.
During this period, SOCAR produced 5.9 billion cubic metres of natural gas, up 0.2 billion cubic metres, or 3.5%, compared with January–September 2024.
Since the start of operations, the ACG and Shah Deniz fields have produced a total of 497.7 billion cubic metres of gas up to 1 October this year, with 240 billion cubic metres from ACG and 257.7 billion cubic metres from Shah Deniz. Of this, 185.7 billion cubic metres were exported.
ACG is Azerbaijan’s largest oil block. The initial production-sharing agreement was signed on 20 September 1994, and a new agreement on joint development and production sharing came into force on 14 September 2017, covering operations until the end of 2049.
The ACG block’s ownership shares are as follows: BP (30.37%), SOCAR (31.65%), MOL Group (9.57%), INPEX (9.31%), ExxonMobil (6.79%), TPAO (5.73%), ITOCHU (3.65%), ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) (2.92%).
The exploration and production-sharing agreement for the Shah Deniz prospective area was signed on 4 June 1996 and ratified on 17 October 1996. Located 70 km southeast of Baku, the field was discovered in 1999. Participating companies include BP (operator – 29.99%), LUKoil (19.99%), TPAO (19%), NICO (10%), Southern Gas Corridor (16.02%), and MVM (5%).
The Absheron field was discovered in the 1960s and is estimated to hold 350 billion cubic metres of gas, making it the second-largest field in the Caspian after Shah Deniz. A contract for the field was signed in 2009 between SOCAR and France’s Total. On 4 August 2023, an agreement was signed with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for a 30% participation stake. After the transaction, SOCAR and TotalEnergies will each hold 35%.
Winter weather has brought air travel in the German capital to a complete halt, stranding thousands of passengers as severe icing conditions make runways and aircraft unsafe for operation and force authorities to shut down one of Europe’s key transport hubs.
Storm Leonardo hit Spain and Portugal on Tuesday, forcing more than 11,000 people from their homes, as a man in Portugal died after his car was swept away by floodwaters and a second body was found in Malaga.
An attacker opened fire at the gates of a Shiite Muslim mosque in Islamabad on Friday before detonating a suicide bomb that killed at least 31 people in the deadliest assault of its kind in the capital in more than a decade.
Ukraine and Russia carried out a rare exchange of 314 prisoners on Thursday as U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi closed with a pledge to resume negotiations soon, offering one of the clearest signs of diplomatic movement in months.
The United States and Iran are set to hold nuclear talks in Oman on Friday after Tehran requested a change of venue and a strictly bilateral, nuclear-focused format, a move that is fuelling questions about Iran’s negotiating strategy.
Uzbekistan is preparing to introduce Islamic banking after the Senate approved legislation creating a legal framework for Sharia-compliant financial services, a move authorities say could broaden financial access and attract new investment into the country’s economy.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about artificial intelligence (AI) creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of quarterly reports from Alphabet and Amazon later this week.
U.S. stock markets finished mixed on Wednesday (28 January) as investors reacted calmly after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, a decision that had been widely expected and largely priced in.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Chevron is in talks with Iraq’s oil ministry over potential changes to the commercial framework governing the West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world’s largest producing assets, after Baghdad nationalised the field earlier this month following U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia’s Lukoil.
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