Azernews.Az

Nazrin Abdul

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A total of 80 wells are planned to be drilled this year, along with more than 500 well operations, according to SOCAR.

As reported by Azernews, speaking at the IADC Drilling Caspian 2026 Conference and Exhibition held in Baku, Farid Umudlu, Drilling Manager at SOCAR’s Production Operations Department (Upstream), highlighted the strategic importance of the oil industry to Azerbaijan’s economy.

“Approximately one-third of Azerbaijan’s GDP comes from the oil industry. At the heart of this system is SOCAR Upstream, which employs around 12,000 people,” Umudlu said.

He noted that, until recently, three separate entities within SOCAR were responsible for upstream operations. These included SOCAR’s Head Office, which handled government relations and occasionally supported operations; the Azneft Production Union, the main operator of domestic assets; and SOCAR Upstream, which provided expert and technical support, largely drawing on international experience.

“Last year, we realized that the parallel operation of three separate entities was inefficient. As a result, a strategic decision was made to unify them under the single SOCAR Upstream brand. We consolidated all assets and transformed into one organization,” Umudlu explained. “This means a stronger structure with a single decision-making chain, one team, and a shared vision. It is critically important for improving operational efficiency and internal coordination.”

According to Umudlu, once the internal transformation was completed, SOCAR moved on to the next phase—external change.

“We have begun implementing a partnership-based model. Previously, SOCAR did not have direct contracts with service companies, as they mainly operated as subcontractors. Starting this year, SOCAR Upstream has begun establishing direct cooperation with various service companies,” he said. “Currently, we are in the process of building these relationships with both service providers and our main contractors.”