Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan should pass a law On Oil and Gas, given the country`s rapidly rising oil revenues, a public opinion poll has revealed.
About 85% of respondents in the poll, which sought to determine which legal framework would be best for managing the resource-rich South Caucasus republic`s oil revenues, spoke in favor of the law. They also suggested that the entire public be closely involved in the process.
29% of participants in the survey, commissioned by researchers of the Patron Humanitarian Progress public union, claimed that due to the lack of proper legal regulation in the energy sector, the country`s oil wealth is benefiting only an insignificant part of the population.
Another group of those polled blamed increasing cases of bribery and corruption on the improper regulatory framework.
According to 14% of respondents, this problem is the main factor impeding the development of the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan.
31% of respondents noted that legal regulation of the country`s oil sector would allow all citizens to benefit from incoming oil revenues. Another part of poll participants - 21% - said this would ensure transparency in the spending of funds acquired from the energy sector.
54% of those polled said the Azerbaijani government was interested in managing the oil sector in accord with the law, while 42% cited the opposite opinion.
The poll was conducted among 500 people in Baku and Ganja as well as in Guba, Barda, Shirvan, and Fuzuli.