“At the end of the first half of 2017, the number of BP’s Azerbaijani national employees was 2,743 including fixed-term employees,” the company said in a press release.

Axar.az reports citing website of BP.

“85% of BP’s professional employees in Azerbaijan are nationals and many of them are in senior positions, including six members of the regional leadership team.”

BP said it remains committed to achieving a nationalization target of 90% for professional staff by the end of 2018. “This envisages nationalizing some professional roles that are currently occupied by expatriate employees. Non-professional staff of BP in Azerbaijan is already 100% nationalized. The nationalization agenda also includes further optimization of BP’s learning and development programmes, close participation in public and private sector initiatives to further improve the local talent market,” the company said.