Azeris look to Total for energy boost

According to United Press International, Aliyev met Monday with Total Executive-Vice President Christophe de Margerie and Daniel Valot, chief executive officer of Technip, to expand oil and gas projects already in place in Azerbaijan, the state's news agency reported.

"We have managed to construct the biggest production platform in the Caspian, which was commissioned within the framework of the Sahdaniz project," Valot said.

Total has been actively involved in Azerbaijan's oil and gas projects since 1996 and has a 10 percent share in the project to develop the Sahdaniz gas field and the South Caucasus Pipeline.

In 2004, the French company joined another transport project, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which transports Caspian oil to world markets through Georgia and Turkey.

Technip provides services for the oil and gas industry in Azerbaijan.