The Contract of the Century will be a basis for future agreements moving Azerbaijan’s energy resources to the West, said former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert Cekuta, Trend reports.

He made the remarks during the “Contract of the Century: Building on 25 Years of Success” forum held on November 21 in Washington.

The event was organized by the Caspian Policy Center and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

He pointed out that the signing of the Contract of the Century was an important breakthrough.

That agreement marked Azerbaijan’s re-emergence in the global energy system, as well as international oil companies’ new engagement in the region, noted the former ambassador.

“It was a product of farsighted and innovative diplomatic engagement by the US and other western partners with Baku and other regional capitals. It improved international energy security by bringing significant new oil supplies to world markets. It showed that Azerbaijan and the region welcomed international investments and international business,” noted Cekuta.

The Contract of the Century enabled the flow of capital to the country, said the former ambassador, adding that this agreement has much broader impact.

“It will be the basis for the future agreements moving Azerbaijan’s energy resources to the west, in particular, $40 billion+ Southern Gas Corridor, which will provide a new secure natural gas source for Europe. It will have beneficial implications for opening the immense oil and gas deposits of the other newly independent states in the Caspian, helping them increase their financial well-being,” he noted.

The Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) partnership this year celebrates the 25th anniversary of the ACG production sharing agreement, signed on 20 September 1994 between the Government of Azerbaijan and eleven international companies representing eight countries.

This contract, which later became known as the “Contract of the Century”, was extended in September 2017 until the end of 2049.

The ACG participating interests are as follows: BP - 30.37 percent; AzACG (SOCAR) - 25 percent; Chevron - 9.57 percent; INPEX - 9.31 percent; Statoil - 7.27 percent; ExxonMobil - 6.79 percent; TP - 5.73 percent; ITOCHU - 3.65 percent; ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) - 2.31 percent.