bp is pleased to announce that Elyar Aliyev has been appointed to the role of vice president legal for the Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye (AGT) region, effective November 1, 2023, Azernews reports.

In this role, Elyar becomes a member of the AGT regional leadership team and will be leading the AGT regional legal team based in Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Elyar is succeeding Yvonne McAllister, who is repatriating to the UK. Elyar becomes the first national head of legal for bp in Azerbaijan.

Elyar has over 23 years of deep legal experience in the oil and gas industry. He joined bp in 2009 in Baku, where he initially supported the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field and led the legal support for bp’s regional exploration activities, including the execution of the Shafag-Asiman, shallow water Absheron Peninsula and D230 exploration block production sharing agreements.

In 2013, he was seconded to bp’s central exploration legal team in London, where he was supporting bp’s new country access opportunities in various parts of the world. Since 2018, he has been leading the legal support to the Shah Deniz and Southern Gas Corridor projects.

Prior to bp, Elyar worked for Nobel Oil (now Nobel Energy, part of NEQSOL Holding), where he was responsible for overseeing the legal affairs of the group of companies operating in a wide range of industries such as oilfield services, engineering and construction, and telecommunications. Before that, he led the legal work for Salyan Oil, one of the largest onshore operators in Azerbaijan.

Elyar received his master’s degree (with distinction) from Baku State University’s department of international law and international relations. He also possesses a graduate diploma in law from BPP University Law School in the UK.

In 2022, Elyar was presented with an honorary award from the president of SOCAR for his contribution to the development of the oil and gas industry in Azerbaijan.

Elyar is married and the father of two children.