ExxonMobil and SOCAR Partner for Unconventional Oil and Gas in Azerbaijan's Middle Kura Basin
ExxonMobil and SOCAR have signed a 50/50 production-sharing contract for unconventional oil and gas in Azerbaijan's Middle Kura Basin, with ExxonMobil as the operator.
The deal, announced on September 26, 2026, is a commercial follow-through to a memorandum of understanding reached in June 2025 at Baku Energy Week and a further cooperation pact signed in Washington in August 2025.
The contract covers exploration, development, and production of 'unconventional hydrocarbon resources' in the Middle Kura Basin, with ExxonMobil taking its fracking expertise overseas to pump oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan's shale fields.