THE GOVERNMENT OF AZERBAIJAN PUBLISHES ITS FIRST REPORTS UNDER THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE (EITI)
March 16, 2005, Baku

March 16, 2005, Baku:

The British Government warmly welcomes the publication of Azerbaijan’s first reports under EITI. Azerbaijan is the first country to publish EITI reports examined by an independent audit firm, and the first country to involve civil society in the implementation of the initiative. The reports represent a very significant and very public step forward in the implementation of the Initiative in Azerbaijan and worldwide.

Colin Wells, Chargé d’Affaires at the British Embassy in Baku, said, “This is an important milestone on the path to greater transparency in Azerbaijan. We congratulate all those involved in producing Azerbaijan’s first two EITI reports on taking the Initiative forward so swiftly. This would not have been possible without the highest level of political commitment from the Azerbaijan government, and the cooperative and practical approach of civil society organisations and oil companies in Azerbaijan. The figures disclosed in the government reports and accompanying independent accountants’ reports provide a good basis for building public awareness and debate on the country’s oil revenues. The fact that the independent accountants found areas where figures did not agree confirms the importance of the involvement of an independent audit company in the EITI process. All stakeholders have also indicated their willingness to further refine and improve the reporting process.

“But this is just a start. Now is a crucial time to establish ongoing transparency in the reporting of Azerbaijan’s oil revenues, which are set to rise significantly from this year on with the full development of the country’s major offshore oil and gas resources. Taking the principle of transparency further would help to build public confidence that the revenues will be used for the future benefit of Azerbaijan, its economy and its people.”

Notes for editors:

On March 15, 2005, the Government of Azerbaijan published the first two sets of reports, under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, on the revenues received from companies operating in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas industry. The reports cover (i) the full year of 2003 and (ii) the first six months of 2004, and are issued along with accompanying reports by Deloitte & ToucheLLC (“Deloitte”), the independent accounting firm selected to aggregate and compare the government and companies’ reporting forms. Deloitte’s specific task was to examine the Azerbaijan Government’s assertion that the figures were prepared in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on EITI signed in November 2004 by representatives of oil companies, civil society and the Azerbaijan Government. The MoU defined the process Azerbaijan adopted to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

The full text of the government reports and accompanying accountants’ reports are available on the website of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan www.oilfund.az and the British government EITI website www.eitransparency.org . Further information and background on EITI is also available on this site.

Last correction date of the file: 24/7/2008 - 14:50:22