Exxon Azerbaijan Operating Company, a subsidiary of the U.S. company ExxonMobil, invested more than $1.5 billion in oil projects in Azerbaijan between 1995 and 2003, according to a corporate report on the company\'s investment activities in Azerbaijan released on 15 January. The ExxonMobil report revealed that its ongoing exploration of the offshore Zafar-Mashal oil field is the subsidiary\'s priority project. ExxonMobil holds a 30 percent share in that field, with drilling of the first well having begun in November. The company also holds shares in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli, Nakhichivan, and Lerik-Deniz fields, although only the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields are currently producing oil. Despite this sizable investment, there have been significant obstacles, however, as exploration at the Oguz field was halted in November when the project failed to become commercially viable and work at the Alov structure was halted in mid-2002 due to Iranian objections. The company has also been frustrated by the continuing dispute over the legal status of the Caspian Sea, which has also suspended exploration of the Lerik-Deniz offshore fields. (Interfax)