API Signs First MOU With Azerbaijan’s National Oil Company

WASHINGTON, January 14, 2021 – The American Petroleum Institute (API) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Azerbaijan’s national oil company, to collaborate on industry standards with the goal of enhancing safety, environmental protection and sustainability across the industry.

“We welcome the signing of today’s MOU with SOCAR, bringing together our two organizations to develop standards in pursuit of our shared goals of safety and environmental protection,” API Global Industry Services (GIS) Senior Vice President Debra Phillips said. “Today’s signing marks the first MOU between API and SOCAR, playing a key role in connecting two major natural gas and oil markets to advance industry performance globally.”

The primary purpose of this MOU is to provide a platform to enhance cooperation and collaboration between API and SOCAR on a number of fronts, including:

• Implementation of API standards and best practices across all industry segments and operations in Azerbaijan.
• Participation in API’s Process Safety Site Assessment Program (PSSAP^®) and Pipeline Safety Management System (SMS) Third Party Assessment Program.
• Capacity building and certifying SOCAR business units to API Quality Management Systems.

API standards are developed under an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited process, ensuring that the API standards are not only technically rigorous, but also are developed using consensus, due process and balance across stakeholder interests. API’s ANSI accreditation also facilitates acceptance of API standards by state, federal and increasingly international regulators.

API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry, which supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. Our 600 members produce, process and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and participate in API Energy Excellence, which is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

SOCAR is an integrated national natural gas and oil company established under the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The company conducts various activities across all segments of the industry, including upstream, midstream and downstream segments, and operates in both domestic and international markets.

To learn more about API and the value of oil and natural gas, please visit API.org