President, top BP official eye partnership, renewable energy plans

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

President Ilham Aliyev and BP Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney have discussed the bilateral strong partnership and BP renewable energy plans in Azerbaijan, Azertag has reported.

At a meeting held on November 11, it was noted that Azerbaijan is considered to be the strongest partner of BP.

The meeting stressed that Azerbaijan enjoys a rich history and bright future of cooperation with the company based on mutual trust.

Noting that BP’s interest in renewable energy is in line with Azerbaijan’s energy strategy, they added that the expansion of cooperation with BP in this area is being reviewed.

Pointing to the importance of BP's renewable energy plans in the liberated areas, the sides expressed their hope that it would contribute to transforming the areas into green energy ones, as stated by Azerbaijan.

They noted that this work has great potential, especially given that Azerbaijan has diversified energy links with neighboring countries and that the country produces more energy than it needs.

Recalling the initiatives of national leader Heydar Aliyev to develop hydrocarbon resources for the benefit of Azerbaijan, Looney congratulated President Aliyev on his ideas related to the energy transfer issues.

Looney also praised Azerbaijan's efforts in the environmental protection field, stating that the country is among the world's leading states in this area. He added that the environmental standards and protection of environmental regulations in Azerbaijan are stronger than in many developed countries.

Moreover, he congratulated the head of state on Azerbaijan’s achievements since they last met.

Expressing his gratitude, Aliyev congratulated Looney on the joint accomplishments regarding the Southern Gas Corridor and reiterated that the project was achieved through the joint efforts of Azerbaijan and BP. The president also highlighted the large-scale measures taken in Azerbaijan to protect the environment.

The sides discussed the issues related to the cooperation prospects.

BP opened its first office in Baku in June 1992 and has since then contributed to Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector through operating projects such as Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG), Shah Deniz, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC), and South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP).

Earlier, Azerbaijan’s Energy Ministry and BP signed an Implementation Agreement to build a 240MW solar power plant in the liberated Zangilan and Jabrayil regions.