Socar president Rovnag Abdullayev said a programme for 2013 has been agreed and approved, after meeting visiting BP chief executive Robert Dudley.

Dudley also met Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in Baku this week, two months after Aliyev had criticised the company for making “false promises” and “grave mistakes”.

However, after the meeeting, Aliyev said: “The firm position of the Azerbaijani leadership and responsible attitude of our partners, as well as BP’s effective co-operation with Socar, quickly eliminated possible negative effects.”

ACG