Azerbaijan - Overview

The Republic of Azerbaijan, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, is a stable political democracy.  The country has an established democratic government, which is fully supportive of international investment initiatives.  Although the mining code is fledgling and runs under the guidance of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the country has an established oil industry, with more than 15 major oil and gas companies with PSAs with the Azeri Government including BP, which has been operating in the country since 1994, and Exxon Mobile.  Infrastructure is reasonably extensive and as Azerbaijan is an oil producing country, diesel is cheap, which also results in low costs for explosives.  Low cost labour is also available.