RWE Dea AG official: We expect substantial reserve potential in Nakhchivan

In his interview, Thomas Rappuhn, chairman of the board at RWE Dea AG, talked about the signing of a memorandum of understanding between RWE and SOCAR on the Nakhchivan prospective offshore field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea in Baku on March 10.

What does the signing of the memorandum mean for RWE Dea?

The signing of the memorandum here in Baku today is the first step toward initiating the upstream activities of the RWE Dea in Azerbaijan. Our intention is to gradually step up our activities in the country in due course. We are looking forward to bringing our experience and technological abilities into this new project, which hopefully will be the starting point for a long lasting and faithful relationship between Azerbaijan and RWE Dea.

Why is RWE Dea focusing on Azerbaijan and the Caspian region?

First of all, we expect a substantial reserve potential in Azerbaijan and other countries of the Caspian region and can contribute a lot of experience when it comes to the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons. Only last year, RWE Dea was awarded the exploration licence of Block 23 in Turkmenistan.

And, of course, RWE aims to secure the energy supply of Europe. Hydrocarbons from licences in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, for example, may contribute to the Western and Central European gas supply with equity gas volumes in the future.

What are the expectations of oil or gas resources in Azerbaijan and especially the Nakhchivan field?

Of course, Azerbaijan has extensive hydrocarbon resources and we expect a substantial reserve potential in Nakhchivan. But first of all, we are looking forward to draw up the "Exploration, Development and Production Sharing Agreement" (EDPSA) with SOCAR in the coming months.


/Trend Capital/