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The public oversight of oil projects in Azerbaijan, 2004–2007
Author(s) -
Asadov Farda
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
international social science journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.237
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1468-2451
pISSN - 0020-8701
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2451.2009.00709.x
Subject(s) - exploit , language change , transparency (behavior) , government (linguistics) , general partnership , civil society , work (physics) , natural resource , oil reserves , business , economic growth , petroleum , political science , economic policy , development economics , economics , finance , politics , law , mechanical engineering , art , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , computer security , literature , computer science , biology , engineering
Azerbaijan's rich hydrocarbon resources could bring it up to $US200 billion of income. However, the period for exploiting these deposits will be quite short, and after 2011 the returns will gradually decrease. While the government and people are aware that measures are needed to manage these resources effectively, no mechanisms exist for the government to work together with civil society to exploit this resource in the interests of Azerbaijan citizens. The successful application of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Azerbaijan may seem to be a significant achievement but, because of the historical conditions of the country's development, there are basic risks of corruption in Azerbaijan in the expenditure of resources. The Azerbaijan experience of collaborating with civil society is in practice limited to accounting for income within the framework of the EITI. In developing a culture of dialogue with civil society, special significance has been attached to the partnership with British Petroleum to monitor the construction of pipelines. If successful, the development of these initiatives in Azerbaijan can serve as an example to other countries with economies based on processing natural resources.