The geography of Azerbaijan’s supply definitely will grow, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the opening of the 29th International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition - Caspian Oil & Gas and the 12th Caspian International Power and Green Energy Exhibition - Caspian Power as part of the Baku Energy Week at the Baku Expo Center, News.Az reports.
“The European Commission names Azerbaijan as a Pan-European gas supplier. And this is true. Six out of eight countries, which are recipients of our natural gas are European countries,” the head of state noted.“The geography of our supply definitely will grow. We are now in the active phase of negotiations with several more countries, which need Azerbaijani gas in order to provide the energy security,” he stated.
President Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan has proven to be a reliable partner in supplying gas to many countries.
The head of state noted that Azerbaijan is increasing its gas exports, adding: “it will most probably exceed 24 billion cubic meters. We have eight countries, which are recipients of Azerbaijani gas. Azerbaijan has proven to be a reliable partner in supplying gas to many countries.”
As for the Baku Energy Week, President Aliyev said this event has already transformed into a bigger event.
“The Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition started 30 years ago in 1994. This event has played an instrumental role in attracting foreign direct investments into the energy sector of Azerbaijan,” he said.
“Since that time, this event has transformed into a bigger event and is now called Baku Energy Week, because it embraces all the major segments of energy policy – oil, gas, upstream, downstream, and of course, green energy,” the president added.
He stressed that all the contracts, which have been signed during the last 30 years, have been implemented completely
“Our word has the same value as our signature. All the contracts, which have been signed during the last 30 years, have been implemented completely. All of them pass through parliament ratification and are then signed into law. So not a single word is changed. And this is a result why we are now experiencing another rapid development in renewables,” the head of state said.
President Aliyev further highlighted Azerbaijan’s green energy potential.
“We will see that our target to have two gigawatts of renewables by the end of 2027 is absolutely realistic. This is only the beginning,” he stated.
“By the way, in the liberated areas of Karabakh and East Zangezur, we have a huge hydropower potential, and since the territory was liberated in November 2020, we have already inaugurated hydropower stations with a total capacity of 270 megawatts. Within three to five years, this figure will reach 500 megawatts. So, one gigawatt of renewables will save us roughly half a billion cubic meters of natural gas, which the market needs and will need,” the head of the state added.
The Azerbaijani president also pointed out the country’s active work with the Small Island Developing States.
“We are actively working with the Small Island Developing States. We are planning to establish a special fund to support them. Because for us here in Azerbaijan climate change is a problem, for them it is an existential threat. So, we are trying to demonstrate maximum responsibility and at the same time, to build bridges,” he said.
The president then referred to the upcoming COP29 in Azerbaijan.
“By taking on this very responsible duty as the host of COP, we fully realized the advantages and complications. Climate change here in Azerbaijan can be seen when you look at the Caspian Sea shore. Every year, we see the sea is going away. Because the Caspian Sea is supplied by the rivers, which come from beyond our borders. We have zero responsibility for this catastrophe if we don't take serious measures. We are doing everything in order to supply more water to the sea, building new dams and water storages to collect water,” President Aliyev said.
