Azerbaijan Can Strengthen Europe's Energy Security
Rovnag Abdullayev, Head of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), said that ensuring energy security, integration into the global energy market, and gradual diversification of supply routes of the country’s oil and gas resources are among the company’s priorities.
Speaking at a conference "Caspian Gas: Current Directions and Future Scenarios," organized by SOCAR and Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, Abdullayev said Azerbaijan’s hydrocarbon reserves are estimated at 10 billion tons of standard fuel.
Azerbaijan gas production has increased over five fold from 5 to 26 billion cubic meters, in the six years period ending in 2010. The country’s gas is supplied to Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Greece and Iran. And is sought after by European pipeline projects, including the EU based Nabucco.
Abdullayev said SOCAR is now working both independently and jointly with foreign partners to increase the country’s production of gas. Preparations are underway to launch the Shah Deniz-2 field. Currently about 23 million cubic meters of gas and 5,000 tons of condensate per day are produced from Shah-Deniz.
Work is also underway at other fields and promising structures. SOCAR, together with Total SA, is drilling an exploration well on the Absheron field and the company is preparing to start work on the Nakhchivan field in conjunction with RWE AG. These two fields hold combined reserves estimated at 600 billion cubic meters of gas. Deep-gas production from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields, is also under consideration.
SOCAR is also carrying out development of fields in the Caspian Sea on its own. Last year the company opened the Umid field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, which holds reserves estimated at 200 billion cubic meters of gas and 40 million tons of condensate.
Abdullayev said the opening of the Umid has become part of a new stage of SOCAR’s development and increased the prospects and possibilities for new discoveries. It allowed to assess the Babak field’s reserves at 400 billion cubic meters of gas and 80 million tons of condensate.
The SOCAR chief said that according to company estimates, Azerbaijan’s natural gas production will increase to 30 billion cubic meters per year by 2015, which will ensure the energy security of Azerbaijan and the region as a whole, as well as create opportunities to strengthen the energy security of Europe.