The inspiring story of a Baku native who travelled the arduous path from geophysical engineer to president of a major oil company in Azerbaijan.
PROLOGUE
…It can be said with confidence that those who have bound their destinies to the exploration and development of oil and gas fields, both on land and at sea, are people of extraordinary resilience. Oilmen are indeed as remarkable as they are selfless. Especially when one watches from afar those who labour on the oilfields of the Caspian Sea, constantly confronting danger and extreme conditions, it is hard to escape the impression that these people were born with courage in their blood and fearlessness in their hearts.
For them, the oil industry becomes, in a sense, a battlefield where courage reveals itself and a proving ground where determination and mastery are put to the test. Yet those who lack these qualities, captivated by the “romance” of the sea and drawn to the offshore platforms of the Caspian, often find themselves unable to withstand the harsh reality of the work. And although they may enter the profession filled with enthusiasm, the very first “storm” that crosses their path is often enough to make them leave it behind.
Our hero belongs to the first group—to the courageous and the steadfast…
A Distant posting and the First Trial
Every profession has its hardships and burdens, yet each possesses a beauty and romance of its own. One need only love the path one has chosen and devote oneself to it wholeheartedly.
An oilman accustomed to extreme conditions—especially one who works on offshore platforms—belongs to a noble profession that demands immense dedication, endurance, and tireless labour. Suffice it to say that these specialists extract “black gold” day and night, regardless of the weather: beneath the scorching summer sun, in the piercing winds of winter, amid raging storms on the open sea, or in the most inaccessible reaches of the land. Through their labour, they secure an inflow of foreign currency for the country and contribute to the successful implementation of social projects aimed at improving the well-being of the population.
Thus, the fruits of an oilman’s labour touch the prosperity and everyday life of every citizen. In Azerbaijan, being an oilman is more than merely having a profession; it is the embodiment of a deeply rooted tradition, devotion to one’s calling, and heroism—a legacy whose history stretches back to the middle of the nineteenth century. We were reminded of this once again during our conversation with Igor Ivanovich Kirdoda, an Honoured Engineer of Azerbaijan and recipient of the “Taraggi” Medal, who has devoted his entire life to this field.
In 1986, after graduating from what was then the Mashadi Azizbayov Azerbaijan Institute of Oil and Chemistry with a degree in geophysical engineering, the young Igor was assigned to the all-Union Soyuzgazgeofizika Trust and, from there, to one of its divisions in the city of Kharkiv. By that time, he was already married and raising a young son, but at his very first place of employment, the young father encountered his first serious hardship—his first true test. He was not provided with accommodation in the trust’s dormitory, leaving his family with nowhere to live. After enduring considerable hardship as a result, about a year later, in the spring of 1987, the geophysical engineer travelled to Moscow to appeal directly to the central administration overseeing the trust. There, he requested a transfer to Baku—and his request was granted.
From this point, he continues the story in his own words:
— I was born and raised in a fairly well-to-do family in Baku. By the time I married, both my wife and I had homes of our own.
Soon afterwards, I joined the Kaspmorneftegeofizika Trust and began working at sea aboard Shelf-type floating drilling rigs as a geophysical engineer. Before long—after just five months—I was appointed head of an integrated geophysical survey team. From that moment onward, one might say, my career entered a marathon of success, and by the age of thirty I already held a position of great responsibility—one that many people spent years striving to attain.
Working from floating drilling rigs, I took part in the exploration and discovery of the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli fields, as well as the Shah Deniz field, which is exceptionally rich in natural gas. You see, as a geophysical engineer, I was engaged in exploration and downhole geophysical surveys. The results of this work were recorded on well-logging charts.
As head of the team, it was I who signed the final documentation containing the results and conclusions. It was a mission that carried an extraordinary weight of responsibility.
A Pillar of support named Khoshbakht Yusifzade
In 1993, Igor Kirdoda joined the American corporation Pennzoil, where he was appointed assistant administrative manager. According to him, the main reason he agreed to take a position unrelated to his professional field was the considerably higher salary:
— By then, our two children were growing up, and caring for them made it impossible for my wife to work.
Both during that period and throughout the years that followed, Professor Khoshbakht Yusifzade (Khoshbakht Yusifzade, 1930–2023, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Professor, Full Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, and First Vice-President of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan for Geology, Geophysics and Field Development) was a close friend of our family—a man who always looked out for us. As a geophysical engineer, I had regarded him as my teacher and mentor ever since my student years.
It troubled him to see me working outside my profession. He would tell me, “You are a specialist in this field. Great prospects lie ahead of you. You must continue working in your profession.”
And, of course, my wise elder friend—one of Azerbaijan’s most experienced and accomplished geologists—was absolutely right. (At this point, Igor Ivanovich falls silent, lost in thought for a moment, before continuing…)
I trusted him as I would a father. Although he passed away three years ago, his memory will remain forever in my heart, and every year I visit his grave.
Yet those who lived through that period know only too well the social hardships we faced at the time. At CIPCO (Caspian International Petroleum Company), which I joined after leaving Pennzoil, I was in a very comfortable financial position. Fortune favoured me in another respect as well: alongside my professional qualifications, I spoke English. Today, almost everyone speaks English, but in those days, people with such a command of the language were so few that one could count them on the fingers of one hand.
Thanks to this advantage, I was soon appointed assistant to the president of CIPCO. Of course, I still dealt primarily with administrative matters and was not working directly in my professional field. Nevertheless, I gained invaluable experience in international business.
I remember that, at the time, a barrel of oil cost a mere nine dollars. Foreign companies engaged in the search for new oil and gas fields would suspend their operations and leave the country at the first disappointing results.
CIPCO was a consortium comprising Pennzoil, Agip, and Lukoil. When this “trio” broke apart in 1998 and withdrew from Azerbaijan, the company’s American president remained in the country. He was appointed president of Shirvan Oil. He worked there for some time, but eventually stepped down for health reasons and returned to the United States.
He was an outstanding professional. Before coming to Azerbaijan, he had spent nearly ten years working across the former Soviet Union.
As for me, a new chapter began when I started working under a power-of-attorney arrangement for the Japanese company Marubeni Corporation. Two years later, they opened an official representative office in Azerbaijan, and I found myself without a job.
Where, in such circumstances, was a geophysical engineer from the oil industry supposed to turn? By then, many of my former colleagues had already sought their fortunes abroad…
In search of oil and opportunity
…Yes, the young geophysical engineer, whose true calling lay in the search for new and promising oilfields, was compelled by the need to earn a living to set out for Russia, where many of his acquaintances in the oil and gas industry held influential positions. Let us hear the rest of his story in his own words:
— I visited several companies where I knew people, and one of them offered me a position as Deputy Head of the Foreign Economic Relations Department. My principal responsibility was to develop the company’s business in international markets.
The company, headquartered in Moscow, appointed me as its official representative in Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and Sudan. It was then that I began weaving an extensive web of international connections, opening new horizons for my career and, ultimately, paving the way towards establishing a business of my own.
Soon afterwards, I began working as the representative of another international company, overseeing its operations in Algeria, Mauritania, Oman, and Qatar. In addition, I took part in developing international projects in the oil-rich republics of Central Asia.
Nearly seven years of my life were spent travelling from one business assignment to another, with the road becoming almost a second home. Yet wherever I lived and worked, my heart always yearned for my native Baku, and whenever the slightest opportunity arose, I returned home.
In 2007, an investor began acquiring promising oilfields in Azerbaijan. The first person he sought out in Baku was me, for he knew me and was well aware of my abilities. Gradually, a consortium bringing together five operating companies was formed. However, when the business failed to develop as he had envisioned, the investor soon left Azerbaijan.
As Executive Director, I then began working with the consortium’s new owner. Through our combined efforts, we developed the enterprise and brought it to the level it has reached today.
Global Energy Azerbaijan Management — the bp of Onshore Operations
Finally, our interviewee, who, owing to his new professional responsibilities, had now settled permanently in his native Baku, tells us how the company he heads, Global Energy Azerbaijan Management, acquired nearly all the enterprises engaged in onshore oil production.
— In 2007, I returned to Baku and took up the position of President of Global Energy Azerbaijan Management. In 2015, our company discovered four new oilfields along the Caspian coast, in the Hovsan area, and drilled the first exploration well.
The well yielded 110 tonnes of gas condensate and 425,000 cubic metres of gas per day.
At one of the oil and gas exhibitions, we presented President Ilham Aliyev with a sample of the high-quality oil extracted from the newly discovered field.
Upon learning of the discovery, Professor Khoshbakht Yusifzade personally came to the well site. Turning to me, he said:
— Igor, if this discovery is confirmed, it will mean that Azerbaijan is entering a new era of oil production. We have never before carried out drilling operations in this area or at this depth.
Without wishing to sound immodest, given the scale of our operations today, we can describe Global Energy Azerbaijan Management as the “bp of Azerbaijan’s onshore oil industry.”
Unfortunately, after our first exploration well had been in operation for some time, an accident occurred because of the extraordinarily high pressure. The pressure there has now reached 600 atmospheres, and in view of the potential danger, we are preparing to plug and permanently abandon the well.
Drilling a second well in this area would require substantial financial investment. Nevertheless, we continue our work at other fields.
A Disciple who carried his mentor’s words as a Lifelong Lesson
Having proved himself in this demanding and strategically vital field, geophysical engineer Kirdoda moved steadily forward, step by step. Yet when he began speaking about the chapter of his professional career connected with the Arab countries, we noticed a striking change in his mood.
Answering our questions about that period, Igor Kirdoda turned his gaze towards the Caspian Sea through the window of his European-style office on the seventeenth floor of a skyscraper in the heart of Baku. After remaining silent for three or four seconds, he turned back to us and once again brought the conversation to his mentor—his Teacher, Khoshbakht Yusifzade:
— We were also invited to meetings at SOCAR, which were attended by representatives of foreign companies as well. I will never forget how, addressing me so that everyone in the room could hear, he would say:
“These people drill wherever they please and however they please. But you are a geologist, and you know perfectly well that Azerbaijan’s geology is different. All they want is to extract the oil as quickly as possible and make a profit.”
And indeed, some companies thought of nothing but profit. In other words, such an approach to the work promised nothing good for the future. Yes, my Teacher was my guiding hand in dealing with situations like these. I took his words deeply to heart and carried them with me as a lesson for life. I will never forget them.
(As he spoke these words, our interviewee once again turned his gaze towards the Caspian Sea beyond the window, and in his eyes we once more caught the warm glow of nostalgia…)
At the beginning of our article, we likened the oil industry to an arena of courage and heroism. Throughout Azerbaijan’s history, the names of countless people who devoted their lives to the oilman’s calling have been inscribed upon the most glorious pages of our national chronicle.
Many oilmen have written heroic chronicles of their own—not only in the history of the oil industry, but also in the collective memory of our people. Among those whose names have been inscribed in letters of gold upon this remarkable chronicle is the mentor and guiding figure of our interviewee—Khoshbakht Yusifzade.
For Igor Kirdoda, who remained faithful to his Teacher and his legacy, both the beginning and the end of his story would invariably lead back to this great scientist and oilman…
EPILOGUE
Love for his profession had taken deep root in the very essence of Igor Kirdoda’s being, and perhaps it was the romance of the Caspian Sea that inspired him, from time to time, to turn his hand to poetry and short stories. Three years ago, he also ventured into the realm of playwriting: in 2023, his play The Corporation of Lost Souls was staged at the Azerbaijan State Academic Russian Drama Theatre.
Five months from now, the author of this autobiographical work, which brings to life selected episodes from the journey of a Baku-born oilman, will celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday. There can be little doubt that still greater achievements await him on the road ahead. We are confident that he will continue to face the trials of life and the forces of nature with dignity and resolve, emerging victorious from every challenge that destiny may yet place in his path.
