Daily Sabah: Growing Influence of State Oil Company of the Azerbaijam Republic (SOCAR)
The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) is in the limelight due to its large and strategic investments in neighboring countries as well as in Europe. SOCAR has a remarkable amount of expertise in the oil and gas sector. As a developing hydrocarbon- based state-owned company, SOCAR is also creating significant partnerships with Seven Sisters including BP and TOTAL, while at the same time increasing its collaboration with regional growing players like TPAO, the Turkish stateowned oil company. However, what distances SOCAR from others and makes it strategically influential in the region is the success behind recent developments and initiatives.
It goes without saying that that eastern and southeastern Europe are heavily reliant on Russian gas deliveries that constitute a high risk for national security and the economic development of the region and indirectly to all of Europe; as there is no open market structure for natural gas, most of the decisions are not made by market mechanisms. Therefore, integration of alternative sources such as Caspian gas resources to the European market has major importance for Europe. The policy of this route, the Southern Gas Corridor, aims to deliver the surplus gas resources of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to meet 10 to 20 percent of the EU's expected gas demand by 2020.
The European approach to the natural resources of the Caspian Sea has always been welcomed by Azeri authorities, as they plan to diversify their exporting routes from Russian infrastructure. However, in recent years developments in the Southern Gas Corridor concept of the EU have not been meeting expectations.