AZE.US
President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan has enough natural gas reserves to meet its own needs and those of its partners for at least another 100 years, as Baku opened a major international energy gathering focused on oil, gas, power and clean energy.
Aliyev made the remarks on June 1 at the official opening of Baku Energy Week at the Baku Expo Center. The event includes the 31st Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition, the 14th Caspian International Power and Green Energy Exhibition, and the 31st Baku Energy Forum.
The president said Azerbaijan’s energy strategy, launched after the signing of the “Contract of the Century” in 1994, had transformed the country from a state that imported electricity and natural gas into a major exporter and transit partner.
He also recalled that the contract for the Shah Deniz field was signed 30 years ago, in June 1996, opening what he described as a new chapter in Azerbaijan’s gas production.
According to Aliyev, Azerbaijani gas is now supplied to 16 countries, including 10 members of the European Union. Last year, he said, the number of countries receiving Azerbaijani gas stood at 12.
“It is difficult to imagine what the European energy market would look like today without the Southern Gas Corridor,” Aliyev said.
The president said Azerbaijan would continue increasing gas supplies, pointing to several projects, including deep gas from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block, the Absheron field and other reserves.
Aliyev said the country’s existing gas reserves are sufficient for at least the next 100 years to cover both domestic demand and the needs of partner countries. Still, he said Azerbaijan is also investing heavily in renewable energy.
By the end of next year, Azerbaijan’s combined solar and wind power capacity is expected to reach 2 gigawatts, Aliyev said. By the end of 2032, that figure is projected to rise to 8 gigawatts. He added that more than 300 megawatts of hydropower capacity have already been commissioned in Karabakh and East Zangezur.
The president also referred to major electricity transmission projects, including the Black Sea Energy Cable, which is expected to connect Azerbaijan with Georgia, Romania, Hungary and other European countries through the Black Sea. Another project involves a land-based power cable along the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey-Bulgaria route.
Aliyev also mentioned the Zangezur corridor, describing it as a future branch of the East-West route.
Letters from U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were also read during the ceremony.
In his letter, Trump congratulated Azerbaijan on hosting Baku Energy Week and said the United States strongly supports the country’s oil and gas sector. He also linked regional energy integration to the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
After the speeches, the ceremony marked a new stage at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block: the start of the first standalone natural gas production from a field long known mainly for oil output.
SOCAR also signed a series of documents with international partners, including agreements related to gas sales from the Absheron field, a gas-turbine power plant project in Serbia, and memorandums with Shell, Comstock Resources, J.P. Morgan, Chevron and other companies.
AZE.US