GECF expects more gas output in coming years

By Kamila Aliyeva

More gas production is expected in the coming years, head of Gas Market Analysis Department of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Mahdjouba Belaifa said.

She made the remarks during the 24th Caspian International Oil and Gas Conference in Baku on June 1.

Belaifa pointed out that more gas output is forecasted due to: more calls on gas in power generation, new LNG projects, new gas pipelines coming to reinforce the supply on the market, such as TurkStream, Nord Stream 2 and a larger penetration of Azerbaijani gas to Europe thanks to Shah Deniz 2 project that will bring to the market more than 16 billion cubic meters in the short term and more than 30 billion cubic meters by 2030.

This is while natural gas demand is the biggest uncertainty, she added. "For 2017, while some signals of growth of gas demand are given by the market, lots of uncertainties are shaping its pace to growth," said Belaifa.

She pointed out that these uncertainties need to be addressed by policy makers to put in place the adequate regulatory systems and energy policies to allow expansion of natural gas usage and increase its share in the energy mix.

The International Caspian Oil & Gas Conference is the largest oil and gas platform for networking for representatives of key players in the energy market of the Caspian region. It was organized by ITE Group plc and Iteca Caspian and has brought together 289 companies from 30 countries. The conference is supported by 20 companies.

Among the speakers at the conference are Natig Aliyev, the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iulian-Robert Tudorache, Deputy Minister of Energy of Romania, Rovnag Abdullayev, President, SOCAR, Gary Jones, Regional President, BP Azerbaijan – Georgia – Turkey, Besim Sisman, President and CEO of Turkish Petroleum, Lars Christian Bacher, Executive Vice-president of Statoil, Andrea Cattaneo, President and CEO of Zenith Energy, Bernard Clement, Vice-president of Europe and Caspian Region, Total and other speakers.