KCA Deutag, Socar AQS target Caspian market with new JV

Socar AQS and KCA Deutag have reached an agreement to form a joint venture that will target existing and future opportunities in the offshore and onshore Caspian drilling and engineering market.

Socar AQS is a drilling and well services management company established between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (Socar) and Absheron Drilling Company (AQS) in 2007.

KCA Deutag informed on Thursday that the new joint venture, which will be jointly owned and managed between Socar AQS and KCA Deutag, will be called Turan Drilling & Engineering Company LLC (A KCA Deutag and Socar AQS Company).

The joint venture will be based in Baku, Azerbaijan and will focus on business development in the provision of oil and gas well drilling and engineering services in the Caspian offshore and certain other parts of the Central Asia region.

KCA Deutag explained: “Turan Drilling & Engineering Company will create an excellent platform for our businesses to work together to grow our operations in Azerbaijan, combining KCA Deutag’s expertise as one of the world’s leading drilling and engineering contractors with SOCAR AQS’s unrivaled knowledge, experience and infrastructure in the Caspian region.”

KCA Deutag also noted that Turan Drilling & Engineering Company will be committed to investing in the local community through the employment and development of Azerbaijani nationals and services.

Commenting on the announcement KCA Deutag CEO, Norrie McKay, said: “This is an exciting step in the group’s strategy to develop our business in the Caspian region. It brings together two businesses with complementary skillsets, which we believe will strengthen our offering to clients, and enable us to jointly expand our footprint in the region.”

The KCA Deutag group currently employs approximately 780 people in Azerbaijan, 79% (seventy nine per cent) of whom are Azerbaijani nationals. The group has been operating in the country since 1995 when it was awarded its first drilling contract and has a twenty year history of working in Azerbaijan providing design, construction support, platform services, commissioning and brownfield engineering services through its RDS and Offshore business units.

Nasib Hasanov, the founder of Nobel Oil Services, the major shareholder of Socar AQS, said: “The establishment of this joint venture with KCA Deutag will create new opportunities for business development. I believe our cooperation will be mutually beneficial and our clients will be able to receive even more advanced services.”