SOCAR to continue ensuring Eurasian energy security

SOCAR will continue ensuring the energy security of the Eurasian area via investments in production and transportation, as well as the geographic expansion of targeted investments, SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev said at the sixth KAZENERGY Eurasian forum in Astana.

He added that Azerbaijan will produce more than 46 million tons of oil and more than 27 billion cubic meters of gas in 2011.

"We expect that gas production in the country will reach 50-55 billion cubic meters a year by 2020-2025 as a result of the further development of prospective structures and fields," he said. "We think that these reserves will play a significant role in ensuring Eurasia's energy security."

He said besides playing the role of an energy supplier, Azerbaijan will also play a significant role in the diversification of transport and transit routes. This is an essential component of energy security.

In particular, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline with current throughput of 1.2 million barrels of oil a day is the largest pipeline in the region.

"The combined capacity of our oil transportation infrastructure, including the Baku-Supsa, Baku-Novorossiysk pipelines and Baku-Kulevi and Baku-Batumi railways is about 80 million tons a year," Abdullayev said.

He noted that, as of 2010, the transportation volume via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline totaled 38.3 million tons. At present, besides Azerbaijani oil, Kazakh and Turkmen oil to the amount of 7 million tons per year are transported via the BTC pipeline and Azerbaijani railway.

"The capacity of the railway will be increased in the nearest future," Abdullayev said.
Abdullaev said that the construction of the modern terminal Garadagh near Sangachal and the project of expanding the Kulevi terminal in Georgia are also a part of operations to expand the Southern Energy Corridor.

The gas transportation project from the Shah Deniz field to Turkey via Georgia through the construction of the South Caucasus gas pipeline alongside the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project implementation has become an integral part of the work to establish the Southern Energy Corridor. The capacity of this gas pipeline during the first stage is 8.1 billion cubic meters per year, with the possibility of a phased increase to 25 billion cubic meters a year.

It is planned to complete the talks with the Botas Company soon. A transit agreement will be signed to transport Azerbaijani gas to Europe.

"Choosing the route and the project of Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe will be strategic," he said. "It is necessary to evaluate the projects given the creation of the gas transportation infrastructure to transport natural gas on the long term prospect."

SOCAR is involved in the talks within the six projects on natural gas supplies to Europe.

"Besides the Nabucco project, we consider the proposals submitted on the projects of the Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline (ITGI) and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)," he said.

"We also consider the projects of the White Stream gas pipeline (GUEU), as well as the projects for the supply of compressed and liquefied natural gas by ships through the Black Sea to Bulgaria and Romania (AGRI)."


/Trend/