The block, which Gran Tierra calls Guba-Khazaryani, covers about 0.4 million gross acres onshore between the Greater Caucasus and the Caspian, the Calgary company said when it announced the signing on 19 February. Exploration runs 5 years, an initial phase of 3 and an optional extension of 2, and development 25 years with a possible 5 more.
Gran Tierra works in Canada, Colombia and Ecuador. Its chief executive Gary Guidry called the agreement an early, scaled entry into a jurisdiction he described as clearly supportive when he announced it in February, and it needed the legislature’s approval to take effect, which it got on Wednesday. Neither APA nor Trend printed a vote count, an investment figure or the name of the presenter.
The first phase commits the operator to an airborne gravity survey, 2 wells and 250 square kilometres of 3D seismic, the second to 2 more wells and another 250 square kilometres, with the work funded from Gran Tierra’s operating cash flow and starting in 2026 to 2027, the company said.
SOCAR’s own share is the remainder, 35%, held through SOCAR Quba-Khazaryani. The northern districts hold some of Azerbaijan’s oldest onshore oil, worked around Siyazan since the Soviet years.
The first phase commits the operator to an airborne gravity survey, 2 wells and 250 square kilometres of 3D seismic, the second to 2 more wells and another 250 square kilometres, with the work funded from Gran Tierra’s operating cash flow and starting in 2026 to 2027, the company said. Trend’s account of the ratification puts gravimetric data first, then geological, gravimetric, seismic and drilling operations.
Azeri Light, the export blend, fell $4.27 to $118.22 a barrel on Wednesday’s print, with Dated Brent at $119.09, Trend reported at 10:15 Baku time.