BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 30. The UK Office
of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has amended General
Licence INT/2025/7363752 for Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz project to
reflect new sanctions prohibitions in relation to Iran.
OFSI said that on September 29, 2026, it amended General Licence
INT/2025/7363752, which allows Persons and Relevant UK Institutions
to undertake any activity necessary for the continued operation of
the Shah Deniz Project, subject to the conditions set out in the
Licence.
The amendment adds Regulation 17A (investments in relation to
Iran) and Regulation 17C (insurance and reinsurance services) of
the Iran (Sanctions) (Nuclear) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 as
prohibitions listed at paragraph 2 of the Licence.
Regulations 17A and 17C came into force on September 29,
2026.
OFSI issued General Licence INT/2025/7363752 on September 29,
2025, under Regulation 40 of the Iran (Sanctions) (Nuclear) (EU
Exit) Regulations 2019. The licence allows Persons and Relevant UK
Institutions to undertake activities necessary for the continued
operation of the Shah Deniz Project, subject to its conditions.
According to OFSI, such activities include the provision of goods,
services, financing or other support, provided that no direct
payment is made to NICO or any other designated person. Payments
due to NICO must be managed so that no funds or economic resources
are made available directly to the designated person.
The OFSI page for General Licence INT/2025/7363752 was last
updated on September 29, 2026, when the general licence and
publication notice were updated.
According to bp data, the current production capacity of Shah
Deniz’s operating facilities stands at approximately 76.8 million
standard cubic metres of gas per day, or around 28 billion cubic
metres annually.
The shareholders of the Shah Deniz project are: bp (operator) –
29.99 percent, LUKOIL – 19.99 percent, TPAO – 19 percent, Southern
Gas Corridor CJSC – 16.02 percent, NICO – 10 percent, and MVM – 5
percent.
