Caspian Energy (CE):  Mr. Babashov, what could you tell about the potential of the Company in the field of catering in the Caspian? Which projects is the company currently involved in? 

Orkhan Babashov, General Director, Caspian Catering Service: Caspian Catering Service is providing catering services both onshore and offshore for companies involved in development and operation of oil&gas fields in the Republic of Azerbaijan and beyond it. 

As a young company, Caspian Catering Service is developing dynamically owing to professional approach to work as well as efficient distribution of the workforce that lends services to clients in different production conditions. 

The core of the Caspian Catering Service team is a group of professionals with  15-year work experience under their belt and deep knowledge in the field of nourishment and environmental security. 

The goal of the Caspian Catering Service is to establish domestic comfort at the working place regardless of its geographical location. 

Since the first stages of its development Caspian Catering Service has been involved in numerous oil-gas projects realized in the Caspian Sea. The Company’s activity covered the whole coast of the Caspian Sector: territorial waters of Azerbaijan, Makhachkala, Astrakhan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. 

Our company is now cooperating tightly with Caspian Marine Services and providing services on 8 vessels. 5 of them are transporting people to drilling platforms operated by the state company SOCAR. 

We also provide services to the Saipem Company and the crane barge Azerbaijan. Apart from this, we provide services to McDermott on two vessels: pipelay vessel Israfil Huseynov and diving vessel Tofig Ismayilov. Besides, we service 12 vessels of the Topaz Marine Company. Early this year we have signed a contract with the Swire Pacific Company which brought a new modern diving vessel to the Caspian. In general, the total number of vessels, that we render services to, makes 30. Total quantity of people serviced by our company offshore reaches up to 2000 people per day. 

CE: Is the company engaged in onshore projects as well? 

Orkhan Babashov:  For the past two years we provided catering services to McDermott and SOCAR companies in the canteen located in the Deep Water Jackets Factory named after Heydar Aliyev where 2.5 thousand people were provided with food daily. The abovementioned companies constructed Baku Shipyard and worked over the Shah Deniz project. Since the end of 2013 we started providing catering services for 600 people a day at Baku Shipyard, with a further increase up to 1500. 

CE: What could you tell about the development plans of the company for 2014?

Orkhan Babashov: I assume the number of fleet where we are going to provide services will increase up to 50 vessels this year. 

CE: What importance does the company attach to the quality of food supply and services provided?

Orkhan Babashov: In general we intend to focus our work on the quality of our services through 2014 in order to strengthen our company’s reputation in the catering market. Therefore, everything we are going to do this and in coming years will be aimed at the growth of the service level and the quality of provided services even if it costs higher than the prime cost of certain project. 

Besides, it will be a comprehensive approach including both the improvement of the quality of services, the growth of qualification of workers and personnel assets in this sphere. 

We gained the trust of companies over the past 6 years and our company is the first to be considered as the supplier of catering services when they plan new projects. Pipe Lay Barge Israfil Huseynov (PLBG), Derrick Barge Azerbaijan (DBA), Diving Support Vessel Akademik Tofig Ismaylov (DSV), Seabed Supporter, Crane Vessel Gurban Abasov, Crane Vessel General Aliaga Shikhlinskiy, Citadel, Topaz Arrow, Caspian Protector, Caspian Power, Caspian Provider, Caspian Supporter, Caspian Challenger, Caspian Server, DMS-2000, Islay, Topaz Triumph, Castle, Neftegaz-62, Neftegaz–58, Vadim Sayidov, Lyutoga, Aura, Neftegaz–64, Om, Nercha, Andoga, Irgiz, Araz, Khudaferin, Giz Galasi, Gobustan, Gulustan and others are among the vessels we provide services for. 

We have earned the reputation and now we will work for improving the quality of our services. 

CE: What is the mission of the company based on?

Orkhan Babashov: Our Company’s success formula is based on mutual understanding, mutual aid and mutually beneficial cooperation with our clients. It is certainly the basis we place priority on in our work. Without these three components it is impossible to imagine the business that we have been involved in for 6 years. 

Catering requires particular scrupulosity in issues concerning hygiene, safety and quality of service. For this reason our company tries to prevent short-comings and treats its clients with care and precaution that are necessary for sound cooperation.  Considering an opinion of every worker of the partner company, Caspian Catering Service tries to create cosy home working conditions for each of them who are citizens of different countries from various continents.  Meanwhile, observance of safety regulations, sanitary norms, hygiene labor and environmental protection in accordance with international standards underlie the basis of the activity that Caspian Catering Service carries out. The quality of services provided by Caspian Catering Service meets industrial criteria of public catering system and management ISO ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 (Provision of Catering Stores and Personnel Services to the Offshore Industry) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Provision of Catering Stores and Personnel Services to the Offshore Industry). 

The number of consumers is growing year by year due to the quality of services we provide. Our clients trust us and we in our turn do our best for enhancing it.