The Museum of Minerals at Baku State University (BSU) has officially reopened following a major renovation, supported by BP and its partners in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Shah Deniz, and South Caucasus Pipeline projects. These partners include SOCAR, TPAO, LUKOIL, SGC, NICO, MOL, INPEX, ExxonMobil, ITOCHU, ONGC Videsh, Eni, MVM, and TotalEnergies.

At the opening ceremony, BSU Rector Elchin Babayev highlighted the museum as a model of collaboration between science, education, and industry. He emphasized that the updated facility will serve not only as a museum but also as a library and an educational laboratory, significantly enhancing the quality of education at BSU. The museum will be accessible to BSU students, as well as students from other universities and high schools.

“As the oldest university in the country, BSU takes pride in its legacy and internationally renowned alumni,” said Rector Babayev. “Building on this tradition, the university has recently made significant strides in digitalization.” He expressed his gratitude to BP and its partners for helping establish this interactive educational space, noting that BP has implemented numerous social projects at BSU in recent years that have enriched university life. The rector also recalled that the museum has housed an office named after Academician Musa Aliyev since 1997.

Hafiz Pashayev, Rector of ADA University, also spoke at the event, sharing insights into the scientific contributions of Academician Musa Aliyev, particularly in the field of oil exploration across the former USSR, including Azerbaijan and Algeria. He praised BSU as a hub of science, culture, and education, where many prominent figures have studied and worked. Among them, Musa Aliyev stands out for his outstanding contributions. Pashayev fondly recalled the intellectual conversations between Musa Aliyev and writer and BSU professor Mirjalal Pashayev, noting their depth and significance despite their different academic disciplines—one in the humanities and the other in the technical sciences. He also underlined Musa Aliyev’s vital role in the exploration of the Caspian Sea’s Oil Rocks (Neft Daşları).

Rector Elchin Babayev presented Hafiz Pashayev with a handwritten letter from Mirjalal Pashayev to Academician Musa Aliyev, further commemorating their legacy.

BP Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, Gary Jones, described the renovated museum as a prime example of BP’s commitment to education and broader social development in Azerbaijan. He noted that since the signing of the cooperation agreement with BSU in 2019, many successful joint projects have been implemented. According to Jones, the museum will serve as an innovative platform to convey geological and geophysical knowledge, contributing to interactive education at the university.

The reopening ceremony was also attended by prominent figures including Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis and BSU professor, Academician Rafael Huseynov; Head of the Department of General Linguistics at BSU, Academician Nizami Jafarov; Director General of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics under the Ministry of Science and Education, Academician Akif Alizade; and Head of the Department of Mineral Resources at BSU’s Faculty of Geology, Academician Vasif Babazade.