By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Revenues of Azerbaijani State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) mounted to AZN 6.8 billion ($3.9bn), while the budget expenditures constituted AZN 4.7 billion ($2.7bn) in the first half of 2021, the fund has reported.

SOFAZ revenues from the implementation of oil and gas agreements amounted to AZN 4.9 billion ($2.8bn), including AZN 4.1 billion ($2.4bn) from the sale of profit oil and gas during the period of January-June 2021.

Moreover, bonus payments made up AZN 768.6 million ($452.1M) and transit payments AZN 10.8 million ($6.3M) of the revenue.

Furthermore, revenues from asset management of the Fund for the reporting period amounted to AZN 1.9 billion ($1.1bn).

Within the execution of the Fund budget for 2021, some AZN 4.6 billion ($2.7bn) were transferred to the state budget. In addition, AZN 1.4 million ($823,529) were allocated to the “State Program on Raising Competitiveness of Higher Education in Azerbaijan in 2019-2023” in the first six months of the year.

Likewise, SOFAZ’s administrative and operational expenses for the reporting period totaled AZN 10.6 million ($6.2M).

The Fund’s extra-budgetary revenues related to the foreign exchange rate fluctuations amounted to AZN 1.2 billion ($705,882).

As of 30 June 2021, the value of SOFAZ`s assets under management amounted to $44.1 billion ($25.9bn), increasing by 1.2 percent compared to the start of the year.

Established in 1999, SOFAZ is a sovereign wealth fund, which accumulates and preserves Azerbaijan’s oil and gas revenues for future generations.

The Fund accumulates income from the sale of oil contracts, and in 2003 it started to make transfers to the state budget of Azerbaijan. As for now, SOFAZ's contribution to the country’s GDP is over 80 percent.