GAS AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR

For the first time in the history of this annual prestigious event, the opening of the 25^th Caspian International Oil and Gas Exhibition (CIOGE) took place outside the exhibition hall, at the Sangachal Terminal. On May 29, another important historic event took place in Baku, the official opening of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC). The first pipe of this project was laid on the territory of this world's largest oil and gas terminal four years ago.

According to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, “It was the first time when Azerbaijan initiated a project, which required such a wide-scale international economic and political cooperation”. He also recalled that the SGC is a huge infrastructure project with more than a $40b-worth investment portfolio. “Implementation of these projects would be impossible without international cooperation,” Aliyev noted and thanked regional partners for cooperation, as well as the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union for support. “In fact, these projects require large resources and banks provide a significant portion of financial resources. The U.S. government has put great efforts in this matter,” Mr. Aliyev said.

In general, the SGC project involves seven participating countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, and Italy. It is expected that three Balkan countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro) will join the project as partners in the next stage. “The Southern Gas Corridor should have branches. We want to sell more gas to Europe because the European market is the most profitable for us,” Mr. Aliyev said.

He underlined that the SGC is a very important project in the diversification of both sources and routes of energy resources. “The interests of all parties involved in the implementation of this project are taken into account. This is also very important. A balance of interests is observed. All participating parties, companies, countries must have the best of the bargain in terms of political, security, and economic interests,” Ilham Aliyev said.

According to Sandra Oudkirk, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy of the U.S. Department of State, the SGC is a very good opportunity for the region in terms of cooperation, peaceful development, delivery of large volumes of natural gas from the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea (Iraq, Central Asia, and the Caucasus) to European consumers. In fact, this project was created for the purpose of diversification.

Meanwhile, Baroness Emma Nicholson, UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy for Azerbaijan, stressed that the oil and gas industry “remains the cornerstone of trade relations between the United Kingdom and Azerbaijan. Together we established a successful partnership, laid a solid foundation for the future.” In her letter to President Ilham Aliyev, British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated that the UK is ready to expand partnership with Azerbaijan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted in his message the following: “Completion of TANAP is a source of pride for each of us, for this project will change the destiny of the region.” He announced that the opening ceremony of the pipeline would be held on June 12 in Eskisehir.

In his opening speech, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo expressed his gratitude for the constant cooperation of Azerbaijan with OPEC “in coordinating production based on the principle of voluntariness, given that Azerbaijan is one of the major oil producers”, for the support and commitment. He said that the parties continued discussions related to the possibilities of expanding cooperation.

Secretary General of the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries, Yuri Sentyurin, recalled that local gas production in Europe would decrease in the next 20 years. The Southern Gas Corridor will be an alternative to the existing supply routes and will help to eliminate the shortage of imports, along with such new additions as liquefied natural gas supplies and the Nord Stream.

CEO of BP Group Upstream, Bernard Looney called the Shah Deniz-2 a revolutionary project that opens ways for transformation. “We expect that this project, as one of the world's largest gas projects, will increase gas production in Azerbaijan by 16 billion cubic meters per year. At the peak of the project, more than 24,000 people worked in the Shah Deniz-2 only in Azerbaijan. By creating jobs for local citizens, this project makes a significant contribution to the development of infrastructure.

“A vivid example of this contribution are the upgraded world-class production sites near Baku, the construction of the Khankendi, the first and only underwater construction vessel in the Caspian Sea, the maximum use of local resources and the construction of all offshore installations, including two world-class platforms, thanks to local resources, which is an unprecedented event in the history of Azerbaijan,” said Mr. Looney.

After the opening ceremony of the Southern Gas Corridor and Caspian International Oil and Gas Exhibition, President Aliyev and Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva visited the exposition at the Baku Expo Centre. For the past 25 years, the exhibition has been recognised as one of the prestigious events in the world, while the number of participating companies and countries has been gradually growing. Thus, about 7,500 companies representing more than 70 countries of the world have participated in the exhibition so far. This year, 312 oil and gas companies from 38 countries gathered for the exhibition in Baku.

A set of unique stamps were published and state prizes were awarded to the leadership of the traditional organisers of the event, Iteca Caspian and its partner company ITE Group, to mark the 25^th anniversary of the first international specialised exhibition and conference, CIOGE.