Community

Social Investment

The success of projects in the Caspian region depends, in part, on the operators’ ability to create tangible benefits from these projects for the people of the region. To achieve this, bp and its co-venturers continue to implement major social investment projects, which include educational programmes, building skills and capabilities in local communities, improving access to social infrastructure in communities, supporting local enterprises through provision of access to finance and training, support for cultural legacy and sport, as well as technical assistance to public institutions.

In the first half of 2024, bp and its co-venturers in the bp-operated joint ventures spent about $0.5 million in Azerbaijan on social investment projects. During the first half, this included 16 ongoing educational projects, three local capacity-building and enterprise development programmes and one environmental initiative.

bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that it operates) will continue their social investment initiatives in support of local capacity-building and enterprise development throughout Azerbaijan to assist the country in strengthening its economy.

Some examples of such projects in Azerbaijan are:

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) launched a new capacity building initiative aiming to help vulnerable group of population from 13 districts of Azerbaijan acquire new skills to enhance their employment opportunities and income generation activities, as well as stimulate self-employment. A total of 340 beneficiaries completed the training based on the ‘Start and Improve Your Business’ modules of the International Labor Organization during the first half of the year.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) is implementing a project in support of developing youth entrepreneurship in rural areas including communities in the Samukh, Yevlakh and Agdash districts. This initiative is based on a three-stage development programme.Stage 1 includes selection and training of business-oriented young people from low-income families, Stage 2 aims to provide them with necessary equipment and tools to start their small businesses, and Stage 3 supports the project participants through a mentorship programme to help them efficiently use the knowledge, skills and equipment provided by the project. During the first half of the year, a total of 65 beneficiaries received in kind-support as part of the project.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) successfully completed an educational project aimed at enhancing the knowledge of English and developing innovative teaching skills of a group of 60 teachers from three Ganja universities.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) is supporting an educational project aimed at enhancing the knowledge of English and developing innovative teaching skills of up to 80 teachers from Sumgait State University and Nakhchivan State University. During the first half of the year, 40 subject teachers from Sumqayit State University were tested to determine their level of English. Based on the test results, the teachers were assigned to groups and started attending training sessions.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) is supporting a project aiming to contribute to the startup environment in the country. The project aims to improve the effectiveness of the Tusi incubation programme and support the linkage between investors and tangible startups.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) successfully completed a project aimed to empower autism specialists in Azerbaijan by providing them with access to the international best practices delivered by international and local experts. The project covered Baku and Ganja, as well as the Dashkasan, Samukh, Agstafa, Tovuz, Goranboy and Shamkir districts. The project scope included specific training for 180 autism and therapeutic sport specialists, volunteers and other groups of people involved in the assessment, diagnosis, rehabilitation and therapy of autism, followed by practical sessions. 

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) successfully completed a project aimed at creating an online educational platform for digital innovative entrepreneurship to enhance the educational capacity of local universities and support students in establishing sustainable businesses. The project developed training materials, an educational guide and a web platform.  

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) successfully completed a project in support of integration and expansion of professional inclusive educational programmes through the Learning Management System technology. As part of the project, CHED (Childhood Health, Education and Social Development) and ‘Mektebim’ courses and training material were adapted and placed into a newly created online web platform. 

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) is supporting a new initiative aimed to increase employment opportunities for 60 local skilled workers from vulnerable households. As part of the project, the skilled workers who had no chance in the past to receive professional vocational education will be able to pass certification exams and obtain official diplomas required for building sustainable job careers. The project will also cover the certification exam fees.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) has been supporting an initiative to equip rural schools with innovative solar heating system and heat pumps. In the first half of the year, pipes for the heating system were laid, heating radiators were installed, and solar panels and the heat pump were procured and delivered to the project site, after which the installation works were launched.  • bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) is supporting an initiative to strengthen the educational capacity of the ‘Automation, telecommunications and computer science’ department of the Azerbaijan University of Technology in the field of cybersecurity.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) successfully completed a project aiming to support the entrepreneurship education at secondary schools. As part of the project, 34 teachers from across Azerbaijan received training in teaching entrepreneurship. Furthermore, these 34 teachers trained around 600 STEAM teachers across the country equipping them with essential knowledge and effective pedagogical tools for teaching the basics of entrepreneurship at schools. The trained teachers then conducted sessions and other learning activities with around 8,000 students at 150 STEAM schools across 51 districts of the country. 

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) is supporting a project contributing to the development of national IT professionals within the ‘Technest’ scholarship education programme initiated by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport in 2021. The first phase of the project has already been successfully completed. A new phase is currently ongoing aiming to help 289 new participants from low-income families get necessary skills in various IT areas to meet the demand for IT specialists in the local labour market. 

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) successfully completed a project designed to promote inclusive educational culture at high schools. The project covered 24 schools selected from across the country including Baku, Sumgayit, Shirvan, Ganja, Absheron, Guba, Sheki, Gazakh, Khachmaz, Gabala and Aghjabadi. It helped enhance 280 schoolteachers` theoretical knowledge and practical skills in inclusive education through a specifically developed training programme developed together with foreign specialists.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) successfully completed a project to support development of community-based agricultural tourism in the Tovuz district. The initiative aims to create income generation and employment opportunities for selected low-income families in the region. The project scope included training of the staff of seven selected agro-tourism service providers - 27 people in total, provision of equipment and tools, refurbishment support, if required, and mentorship. Additionally, a forum and exhibition were organized in Tovuz to promote agro-tourism.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) is supporting a project aiming to increase employment and income-generation opportunities for 25 beneficiaries from vulnerable families living in the Kurdemir district. The selected beneficiaries will receive vocational training in tailoring, cooking, installation and repair of electrical lines/mechanic fitting.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) is supporting a project for the establishment of the ICT cybersecurity laboratory at Mingachevir State University. The initiative aims to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at engineering faculty, benefitting more than 850 students annually from the computer engineering, information technology, computer science and cyber/information security specialties. As part of the project, the hardware and software components of the laboratory have already been delivered, and the installation works have been launched.

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) successfully completed a project aimed at helping war-affected people in the Tovuz and Agstafa districts build sustainable livelihoods. The project provided psycho-social and legal assistance, as well as organized a networking (social integration) camp for war-affected people. In total, around 600 people received psycho-social and legal support, and 25 people benefitted from a networking and recreational camp organized in the Gakh district.
• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) successfully completed an important training programme for a large group of students at Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University. The programme aimed to develop inclusive teaching skills of undergraduate students specializing in primary school teaching. Some 140 students of the Primary Education and Correction faculty of the university enrolled in the training programme received international certificates, mastering innovative methods and specifics of inclusive teaching. The programme was based on the international training method called DanceAbility® which embraces inclusiveness in treatment and rehabilitation of people with disabilities via universally common communication techniques. 

• bp (on behalf of its co-venturers in the joint ventures that bp operates in Azerbaijan) launched a new project to develop five educational products focused on mathematics for schoolchildren in grades 5-9. These products will include video lessons, homework assignments, and quiz questions. The project outputs will be made available to the public as a free application. The development of video lessons has been almost completed, and work on developing the quiz questions and homework assignments is ongoing.

In addition, in the first half of 2024, bp alone spent around $0.9 million on various social and sponsorship projects in Azerbaijan. These projects included 15 ongoing educational initiatives, one local capacity-building and enterprise development programme, four environmental initiatives, one project promoting the country’s cultural heritage and sport, as well as six conferences and workshops on various themes.

Some examples of these include:

• translation from English into Azerbaijani and publication of 14 academic textbooks on startup and innovation, corporate finance, marketing, social research, international relations, economic policy, managerial economics, statistics for business and economics, econometrics, psychology and information security. This project aims to enhance the quality of teaching in 16 disciplines at over 15 local universities. 

• development and publication of an ‘Interdisciplinary relations – generation of new knowledge’ textbook for teachers, students and administrative staff at universities.

• provision of 400 schoolchildren of grades 8, 9 and 10 from 20 schools with the career guidance enabling them to make informed decisions about their future job endeavors.

• development and publication of textbooks on international medical law, mediation law, international public law for the benefit of local university students, teachers and researchers. 

• translation and publication of the textbook ‘Limits of the Market’ by Paul De Grauwe for the benefit of local university students majoring in economics, macro-economics, as well as teachers of economy, economic theories, finance and political science.

• establishment of the digital library at Azerbaijan Technical University.

• establishment of the ICT & cybersecurity laboratory at Baku Engineering University.

• expansion of the laboratory infrastructure of three departments of Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction: construction of engineering systems and facilities, technological machinery and facilities, and land reclamation and water management.

• establishment of a graduate programme in chemical engineering at Sumgait State University. As part of the project, the chemical engineering laboratory will be upgraded, a new curriculum will be developed, and the knowledge and teaching skills of university teachers will be enhanced.

• establishment of a publication centre and support for the restoration of greenhouse at Azerbaijan State Agricultural University.

• support for the establishment of a dual master’s degree programme in renewable energy at Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University.

• Funding for the training of 22 talented Azerbaijani nationals to prepare them for admission to leading international universities. This follows the successful completion of the first phase of the project, which enabled the enrolment of 15 talented Azerbaijani nationals in world-known universities. To date, 21 out of 22 students have already received admission to leading universities.

• support for the restoration of two underground water-supply sources in the Tovuz district. Once restored, the two sources will be capable to provide up to 2.5 million cubic metres of fresh water annually, enough to meet the household consumption and land irrigation needs of about 15,000 community members.

• support to the establishment of a new water supply system in the Goychay district. The system will be designed to collect, settle and clean floodwater making it suitable for land irrigation. It is intended that the system will have a capacity of cleaning over 500,000 cubic metres of water annually enough to irrigate up to 100 hectares of land.

• support for establishing up to 25 water systems for drinking, irrigation and sanitation in the Kurdamir, Ujar, Agdash, Yevlakh, Goranboy and Samukh districts. The project will cover about 20 rural communities with a total population of approximately 25,000 people.

• support for the restoration of biodiversity in the Zangilan district by planting indigenous tree species and providing aftercare for them.

• support for the enhancement of work skills and knowledge of up to 80 volunteers of the “ASAN Volunteers” Youth Organization Public Union.

• support for the development of Azerbaijan’s national sport by extending bp’s decade-long partnership with the National Olympic and Paralympic Committees until the end of 2024.

• sponsorship of the IADC Drilling Caspian 2024 conference and exhibition. The event brought together industry leaders and drilling professionals to discuss challenges and share best practices in this field. 

• sponsorship of the World HR SUMMIT 2024 organized by the Azerbaijan HR Institute in Baku. The event brought together the top human resources representatives to discuss the global novelties and development of the cutting-edge innovations and technologies in the field of human resources.

• support to the “EY Entrepreneur of The Year” business awards competition encouraging entrepreneurship and recognizing the achievements of inspiring businesspersons.

• sponsorship of the Azerbaijan Business Case Competition 2024. The purpose of the competition was to create a practical environment for students to develop their business analysis and presentation skills for preparing them to become future business leaders of the country.

• bp employees continued to share their knowledge and experience with Azerbaijani students. During a three-day engineering bootcamp, a group of our employees provided training sessions on petroleum engineering, safety, low carbon and agility for 41 students from three local universities, focusing on the practical application of theoretical knowledge. The students received bp internal certificates upon the completion of the bootcamp.

• sponsorship of the 6th International Scientific Conference of Economics and Management researchers organized by the Azerbaijan State Economic University. The conference was held under the theme of ‘New Era of Sustainable Development: Green Transformation and Climate Finance’.

• support to and active participation in the major energy industry event of the year – the 29th Baku Energy Week, including the Caspian Oil & Gas exhibition and Baku Energy Forum.

• sponsorship of the “Caspian Basin International Conference 2024: Meeting the challenges of a world in transition” event organized by the UFAZ Scientific Committee. The event aimed to present and discuss new approaches, methodologies, and data in the earth sciences, focusing on the challenges posed by the energy transition. 

• sponsorship of the ‘International Forum on Green World Solidarity: Shifting from Waste to Value for a Sustainable Future’. The event served as a nexus for collaboration and innovation in waste management.

Further information:

Tamam Bayatly at bp’s press office in Baku. 

Telephone: (+994 12) 525 58 95