Azerbaijan’s Relationship with Oil
Oil fueled Baku's rise in the late 1800s, supporting the majority of the city's exquisite buildings, mansions, and palaces. The nation's riches skyrocketed during the second oil boom. Baku's skyline was financed by black gold. Oil was also to blame for the nearly halving of the value of manats versus the US dollar as oil prices plunged in 2015.
As of 2013, Azerbaijan's petroleum industry produced approximately 873,260 barrels (138,837 m3) of oil per day and 29 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Azerbaijan is one of the oil industry's birthplaces. Its history is intertwined with the fortunes of the petroleum industry. It is ready to re-establish itself as a key oil and gas producer.
The State Oil Firm of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is a 100% state-owned national oil and gas company based in Baku, Azerbaijan. SOCAR is a significant source of revenue for the Azerbaijani government. The corporation is administered in an opaque way, with complicated webs of contracts and middlemen that, according to non-government watchdog organizations, have resulted in the enrichment of the country's ruling elites.
