U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil will pay Azerbaijan around $30 million in compensation after giving up on exploring the Nakhichevan oil field in the Caspian Sea, the head of the Azeri state oil firm said on Monday. \"We have concluded our discussions with Exxon Mobil on Nakhichevan,\" Natik Aliyev, president of Azeri state oil firm SOCAR, told reporters. \"The amount of compensation will be around $30 million.\" An exploration well drilled in 2002 did not find commercial quantities of oil and earlier this year Exxon pulled out of drilling at a second site on Nakhichevan. SOCAR will now discuss with Exxon its claim for compensation for pulling out of another Caspian field, Zafar Mashal, where it spent $150 million fruitlessly in 2004. Exxon is still involved in three Azeri projects, although two have been frozen by a territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Iran. (Reuters)