Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

Germany's RWE Dea AG plans to conclude its talks with Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR over exploring and developing the Nakhchivan field in the Caspian Sea in 2014.

RWE's general manager for new ventures in Europe and the CIS Martin Wellens told journalists that the company is in intensive negotiations with SOCAR to sign a production sharing agreement over the Nakhchivan deposit located in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.

"We expect to complete these negotiations in 2014," Wellens said, noting that the company is focused on investing in the oil and gas sector in Azerbaijan.

"RWE is interested in carrying out a complex work- exploration, development and production. Our company believes in the prospects of this deposit, as well as the competence and reliability of our partners," Wellens said.

RWE and SOCAR undersigned a memorandum of understanding in March 2010 for Nakhchivan deposit, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) off the Azerbaijani coast.

The Nakhchivan deposit, located at a depth of 400-600 metres below the surface of the Caspian Sea, was first discovered by Azerbaijani oil explorers in 1960.

This field was first explored by Exxon Mobil Corp. in 2001. ExxonMobil expressed interest in the deposit in 1997 and signed a contract with SOCAR at the time, but declined to continue exploration, citing the absence of significant reserves at the field.

SOCAR estimates the block may contain 300 billion cubic meters of gas and 40 million metric tons of condensate, or light oil