ENERGY

Azerbaijan Cancels Pact With Western Oil Companies: The government has apparently canceled the agreement to develop its Caspian Sea oil reserves just two weeks after the accord was formed. Political turmoil has left it unclear who is running the country. British Petroleum Co., Amoco Corp., Pennzoil Co. and Los Angeles-based Unocal, major Western partners in the venture, say they still expect to develop Azerbaijan’s 4.4 billion barrels of proven reserves. “This is a kind of temporary pause while a new government gets up to speed with the project,” said Tom Mueller, a spokesman for Chicago-based Amoco. The companies have already paid $70 million in the form of signing bonuses as negotiations have continued. Unocal paid $11.2 million for its share.