EXCLUSIVE: Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Talks Exclusively to NGE
In an exclusive interview with Natural Gas Europe, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said that the most important priority for Azerbaijan is improving energy efficiency.
Responding to Natural Gas Europe's questions in a briefing meeting on November 27th dedicated to Azerbaijan's joining of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) as an observer member, Minister Aliyev said, "We will pay special attention to the energy efficiency issue from now on, in addition to energy consumption optimizing projects we started several years ago.
"Improving energy efficiency gives Azerbaijan more strength to boost gas export and increase revenues," he added.
During the first ten months of 2015, Azerbaijan produced 24.073 billion cubic metres (bcm), of which 6.76 bcm was exported.
Azerbaijan plans to export a further 16 bcm of gas to Turkey and EU in the next five years by commencing the second stage of the Shah Deniz project as well as the Southern Gas Corridor.
In his interview with NGE, the Azerbaijani minister also added that while the amount of gas losses in the country is very high, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has been replacing the low-pressure pipelines, constructed when Azerbaijan was still part of the Soviet Union, with sophisticated pipelines since 2012. "It's important, because Azerbaijan's gas network shares a huge amount in total gas losses," he said.
He didn't mention the exact amount of gas losses, but according to the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, some 830 million cubic metres of gas is lost annually in the national gas network.
Minister Aliyev added that while assessments carried out 10 years ago predicted the EU's gas consumption would reach 600 bcm per year (bcm/y) in 2010 and 700 bcm/y in 2015, the current gas consumption in Europe is far less than this figure, due to the development of alternative and renewable energy resources during a decade, especially in the last several years.
Responding to another question from Natural Gas Europe's about the country's gas transit projects, the minister said the country's gas transit projects are far ahead of schedule.
"I have had consultations with SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev and BP's Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, Gordon Birrell. Based on President Ilham Aliyev's initiative, the second meeting of the Advisory Board of the Southern Gas Corridor will be held in early 2016 to discuss the realisation of this project."
The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is a term used to describe planned infrastructure projects aimed at improving the security and diversity of the EU’s energy supply by bringing natural gas from the Caspian region to Europe.
Natiq Aliyev said that progress in Azerbajian and the Georgian part of the Southern Gas Corridor is far ahead of plans and a new meeting of the Advisory Board may be held in Baku.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the most complex gas value chains ever developed in the world. Stretching over 3,500 kilometres, crossing seven countries and involving more than a dozen major energy companies, it is comprised of several separate energy projects representing a total investment of approximately $45 billion (USD):
- The Shah Deniz 2 development, drilling wells and producing gas offshore in the Caspian Sea.
- Expansion of the natural gas processing plant at the Sangachal Terminal on the Caspian Sea coast in Azerbaijan.
And three pipeline projects: - South Caucasus Pipeline (SCPX) – Azerbaijan, Georgia
- Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) – Turkey
- Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) – Greece, Albania, Italy
Ilham Shaban is Natural Gas Europe's expert on Azerbaijan energy issues and director of the Azerbaijan Centre for Oil Studies in Baku