Profit tax payments of Shah Deniz, ACG shareholders to Azerbaijan's budget down 37.5% in Q1

BAKU. April 22 (Interfax) - Oil and gas companies developing the Shah Deniz and Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) fields in Azerbaijan under production sharing agreements (PSAs) paid profit tax to the state budget in the amount of 437.5 million manat ($257.3 million at the current exchange rate) in January-March 2026, the Azerbaijani Finance Ministry told Interfax.

As reported earlier, profit tax revenues from these PSAs in Q1 2025 amounted to 684.6 million manat ($402.7 million at the current exchange rate). Payments therefore decreased 37.5%.

In Q1 2026, participants in the Shah Deniz project paid profit tax in the amount of 319.5 million manat (-44.5%), and the ACG block development project paid 118 million manat (+5.6%).

As previously reported, oil and gas companies developing the Shah Deniz and ACG fields in Azerbaijan paid profit tax to the state budget in the amount of 2.55 billion manat ($1.5 billion) in 2025, down 15.1% compared to the previous year.

The Azerbaijani authorities expect profit tax revenues from oil and gas companies developing the Shah Deniz and ACG fields to amount to 1.9 billion manat (around $1.12 billion) in 2026.

The contract for the development of the Azeri, Chirag and deep-water part of the Gunashli fields was signed in 1994. Its term expired in 2024, but a new contract was signed in September 2017, which is valid until 2050.

Currently, the shareholding of parties in the project is as follows: BP plc - 30.37%, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) - 31.655%, Hungary's MOL - 9.57%, the U.S. company ExxonMobil - 6.79%, India's ONGC Videsh - 2.925%, Japan's Inpex Corp. - 9.31% and Itochu Oil - 3.65% and Turkey's TPAO - 5.73%.

The contract for the development of the Shah Deniz field was signed in 1996. The shareholding of parties in the contract currently is as follows: BP plc (operator) - 29.99%, Lukoil - 19.99%, TPAO - 19%, Azerbaijan's Cenub Qaz Dehlizi - 16.02%, Iran's NICO - 10% and Hungary's MVM - 5%.

The official exchange rate on April 22 is 1.7 manat/$1.