President Aliyev: Caspian Oil & Gas exhibition plays important role in Azerbaijan's life

By Aynur Karimova

The Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition plays a very important role in Azerbaijan’s life, President Ilham Aliyev said on June 2.

He made this remark at the ceremony of opening of the 22nd international Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition and Caspian Power 2015, the 5th Anniversary Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition in Baku, Trend reports.

President Aliyev and his spouse Mehriban Aliyeva attended the event.

Welcoming the guests and congratulating the Azerbaijani people on the occasion of the opening of these exhibitions, the head of state said the holding of the first Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition in 1994 was a very significant event, as at the time Azerbaijan was a very young independent state, and exactly after 1994, serious steps towards development began to be taken in the country.

The president, recalling that Azerbaijan’s independence was restored in 1991, said that however, in 1991-1993, the situation was very hard and a political, economic and military crisis engulfed the country.

“The economy was paralyzed, there was a decline in industrial production, including the oil production,” Aliyev said.

Referring to the 1994 exhibition, the president said that it presented Azerbaijan to the world and familiarized it with the country.

The president also expressed gratitude to the exhibition’s organizers.

“I’d like to express my gratitude to the exhibition’s organizers for that they have been for 22 years organizing it, demonstrating the world Azerbaijan’s growing energy potential, and together with us, under partnership conditions, are working actively for Azerbaijan to develop even faster,” he added.

The president recalled that the exhibition involves over 300 companies.

“This suggests that the interest in it doesn’t reduce, despite that 22 years have passed since the first exhibition, and thus Azerbaijan continues to present its capabilities to the world,” said the president.

“A new oil strategy of Azerbaijan was formed after holding the first exhibition in 1994,” he added. “Initiated by great leader Heydar Aliyev, the new oil strategy of Azerbaijan ensures today the successful development of the country.”

Azerbaijan’s president underscored that a historic agreement - the Contract of the Century - was inked in September 1994, helped to attract foreign investments to the country in large volume.

“If this historic step had not been taken in 1994, it would have been hard to imagine our country’s development,” said the president. “Those years, foreign investors believed in us, despite that Azerbaijan was known as a country with very high risks.”

He went on to add that the foreign investments, the creation of good conditions for investors, as well as the protection of national interests of Azerbaijan as part of all the signed contracts were the main conditions for a successful cooperation.

“The interests of both the investors and the state, the Azerbaijani people, coincided, and exactly the spirit of this excellent cooperation today ensures Azerbaijan’s successful development, and not only in the oil and gas sector, but also in all other areas,” said President Aliyev.

“I can say the experience we have gathered with foreign partners in the oil and gas sector, gives us an opportunity to attract investments in other areas as well, to successfully cooperation with foreign companies and ensure the diversified development of the country,” said the president.

The Contract of the Century was the contract of the 20th century, said the president.

“Today, we are already implementing the contract of the 21st century. The Southern Gas Corridor is the contract of the 21st century and namely the contract signed in 1994 and the success achieved following it made today’s reality possible.”

President Aliyev recalled a contract signed in 1996 with the international consortium on Shah Deniz gas field.

“Back then, the gas factor didn't have such great importance in the global oil and gas sector and the countries’ energy security wasn’t directly related to gas reserves.”

The head of state noted that Shah Deniz gas field is one of the largest fields in the world and its development today provides the main resource base for the Southern Gas Corridor.

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and Baku-Supsa pipelines were built before that, said the president.

“Thereby, for the first time in the history, the Caspian Sea was linked with the Black and Mediterranean seas via a branched pipeline network and this was a historical event. Caspian, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea cooperation was formed.”

“It became apparent in other spheres as well and namely, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which is the large infrastructure project, is today being implemented via this route.”

“This, too, would be impossible if we have incorrectly built out energy policy,” said the president. “Thus, the work done in late 90's, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines in early 2000's, were of course, a great historic achievement.”

“This allowed Azerbaijan to get large currency reserves, and using them effectively, we have aimed our currency reserves at the main directions of the country’ development,” said the president.

President Aliyev said that the people’s well-being has improved, and the country’s economic development has been ensured.

“Over the past ten years, Azerbaijan’s economy has been growing at the fastest pace on the world scale, and it has grown by 300 percent,” President Aliyev added.

He also noted that at the same time, the infrastructure projects facing the country have been implemented and the social issues have been settled.

“Pursuing a thought-out economic policy, we managed to cut dependence on oil to a large extent, today the oil factor in GDP is only 30 percent, and thus we have made great success in diversifying the country’s economy,” said the president of Azerbaijan.

The head of state said that undoubtedly, large investments made in the country in 1990s and 2000s are at the core of all of this.

“Thus, in the economic sphere, we are less dependent on the oil factor,” said the president. “Therefore, although the oil prices almost halved, our economy grew by over 5 percent in 2014. That’s to say, the diversified development of our country, sustainability of our economy, which is already a reality and our important tasks of course are not related to the oil and gas sector.”

President Aliyev added that the main tasks are diversification of the economy, further decreasing dependence on the oil sector, improvement of Azerbaijani people’s welfare, implementation of major infrastructure projects that haven’t been realized for the present and thereby create even stronger basis for the long-term development.

Aside from that the country’s serious tasks in the energy sector will undoubtedly be fulfilled, according to the president.

“Because there are great reasons for this. I’d like to once again say the international cooperation in the oil and gas sector today shows that Azerbaijan’s cooperation with foreign partners is based upon a very healthy soil,” said the president.

“Here, I’d like to especially note the relations of SOCAR and BP,” he said. “BP is our main partner that has made largest investments, and the leading foreign investor and a partner both in the realization of the Contract of the Century and in the Shah Deniz project.”

As the president said, the cooperation between SOCAR and BP continues as part of other projects as well, this cooperation has over 20 year history, and will further continue for decades.

“This brings benefit both to our state and foreign partners. Such an excellent climate has been created in Azerbaijan. All the foreign investments are protected adequately,” he said.

“As is known, all the oil and gas contracts have legal force and are approved by the parliament, and this certainly increases the investors’ trust in us,” President Aliyev said.

In his speech, President Aliyev said that while reviewing the past, today one can say with pride that Azerbaijan adequately and timely fulfilled all challenges in the energy sector.

"The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines, the development of Shah Deniz gas field and Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil fields, each of these projects is a giant energy project,” the president said. “At the same time, the process of implementing the South Gas Corridor started. This is also a historic event.”

“I should stress that while implementing this project, Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated its role and leadership qualities,” he said.

“As it is known, the Caspian Basin gas supply route to Europe has been discussed for many years. Azerbaijan took part in these discussions. But when we have seen that these discussions do not lead to concrete results, we have put forward our own initiatives. And Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an agreement on TANAP gas pipeline construction in 2012."

Later, Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Alan Yarrow read out a message of congratulations on behalf of British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Expressing satisfaction with the fact that the UK companies are playing an important role in the continuing development of Azerbaijan’s hydrocarbon sector, Cameron said Azerbaijan’s energy resources will play a role in the European and world economy and in the energy security of Europe.

“Europe has to diversify routes and resources of energy, and the Southern Gas Corridor has important role in this,” said Cameron.

He also congratulated the Azerbaijani government on the successful first meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Board in Baku and the recent the groundbreaking ceremony for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline.

Cameron went on adding that it is important to ensure that TANAP is realized in timely and effective manner.

“I am confident that this ambitious project will become reality and pleased that BP plays its role in its development,” he added. “As a close friend of Azerbaijan we wish all partners involved further success in their efforts to provide stable source of energy for many years to come."

Later, Polish Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechocinski and Iraqi Oil Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi addressed the ceremony.

Adil Abdul-Mahdi said Azerbaijan is clearly becoming a regional and maybe a global player

“I have been here for two days and half,” he said. “I witnessed the achievement of the country, not only in oil and gas, but also in modernization, investments.”

“Azerbaijan and Iraq signed an MoU which will open the way to all kinds of upstream, midstream and down stream activities,” he said.

Adil Abdul-Mahdi also stressed the interest of Iraq in cooperation with Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR.

“We look forward to working with SOCAR for the benefits of our two countries,” he said. “Iraq has big potential in oil and gas sphere.”

“Last month Iraq exported more than 3.5 million barrels of oil per day,” he said. “Oil production is now near 4 million barrels of oil.”

“The foreign companies’ activity in Iraq shows that the country has enough stability and the investment in Iraq could be sustainable,” he said.

As part of the event, President Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva viewed the pavilions of the exhibition.

The 22nd largest event of the energy sector of the Caspian region is attended by over 250 companies. The event is divided into sections, including new technologies in oil extraction and energy resource transportation, storage systems for oil and gas, current and future oil and gas projects in the region and other important fields.

As an internationally recognized platform and a major event in the oil and gas industry in the region, for over 20 years the exhibition and conference have attracted the most senior level directors to discuss key oil and gas projects in the Caspian region and to ensure energy security.

For the first time ever, Caspian Oil and Gas will host the art exhibition “The Nobel Brothers and Baku Oil. The Prize” sponsored by BP.

The International Caspian Oil and Gas Conference, which is an important part of the business program, will be held at the JW Marriott Absheron Baku hotel on June 3-4. Over 500 delegates from more than 30 countries will take part in the annual conference. More than 50 representatives of state bodies, leading experts in the oil and gas industry and chief executives of major oil and gas companies from different countries will speak at the conference.