Azerbaijan news

Are there gas volumes that Europe wants in Azerbaijan? |

On July 18 Europe Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Baku and Azerbaijan with European Union A Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Partnership in the field of energy was signed between

Ursula von der Leyen through the Memorandum of the institution of the South Gas He said that he has undertaken to expand the corridor.

“That’s it European Union is a very important supply route for and through it 8 per year billion cubic meters gas is transported. We have been able to transmit it for several years 20 billion we will deliver to cubic meters. From next year we 12 billion we will reach the cubic meter indicator, so from Russia gas we will reduce the volume of supply and make a significant contribution to Europe’s security of supply”.

It should be noted that the text of the Memorandum has not been fully disclosed to the general public, and the details of its provisions are not known. At the same time, there is no idea about the sources of the gas volumes desired by the European Union, additional investments, expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor.

Head of the Oil Research Center Inspiration Shaban commented on these questions to Pressklub.az. He first in recent years Azerbaijan He drew attention to the issues that the president raised in the gas issue, and the main theses he put forward in his speeches in general:

“First, President emphasized that there are additional gas volumes to sell in Europe besides the “Shah Deniz-2” project. Indeed, it is the second largest gas field in Azerbaijan, which was discovered in 2011.Absheron-2″. It has recoverable reserves of 350 billion cubic meters. Of this volume, 1.5 billion cubic meters per year, approximately 50 billion cubic meters are intended for sale in the domestic markets of the country. So, there are 300 billion cubic meters of confirmed gas reserves for foreign markets.

In addition, in AzerbaijanBabek” is a reserve that has not yet turned into a field, but the fact that it has the same structure as “Umid” indicates that after capital investment, the possibility of opening a gas field larger than “Umid” is very high.

Secondly, there are gas layers in the deep layers of the “Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli” field – below 4 thousand meters. Now it is natural gas produced from that field. It is produced along with oil, but in addition to that, there are gas layers deeper in that block. In order to bring them to the market, new contracts must be signed with both investors and buyers.”.

Inspiration Shaban adds that there are several other fields in Azerbaijan, where there are gas reserves, although not in large quantities. As for the volume, the expert notes that the extracted known reserves 20– estimated up to 50 billion cubic meters, even if we do not consider them for foreign markets, it is enough for domestic consumption for a long time:

“We were waiting for that moment, how much gas Europe can buy from us. They announced this figure on July 18 – an addition per year 10 billion cubic meters. They expect this volume from us and take a commitment.”

According to the head of the center, the second point that the President wants to convey to consumers in the West is that in order to obtain additional volumes, producers must first be convinced. So that they can make capital investments:

“Secondly, to expand the infrastructure available to deliver the gas they will extract to consumers funds they will spend. A part of these funds was invested there before additional gas volumes. You have to pay those funds because it’s billions dollars means One compressor station costs 500 million euros. Just imagine Turkey 4 compressor stations should be built in the area. Moreover, the issue is not fully resolved only by the construction of the mentioned stations. To push large volumes from one point to another destination, there are operational, security, etc. there are costs. In addition, there is the cost incurred by the companies that will extract these volumes from the depths of the Caspian Sea. After that, the owner of the gas, taking into account the years, in a profitable manner Azerbaijan can be delivered to consumers by providing a margin value that will satisfy the state and other shareholder companies. Figuratively speaking, there are no opportunities here to buy good goods from “Torgov” at “Sadarak” market price. “I die, you die” conversations do not happen here.

The third is gas and politics. Most players in the West wanted to use Azerbaijan against bigger players. Even now there are those who have this dream. Official Baku has always had a warning that we are out of gas political We do not intend to be used or made as a tool. This creates a completely different picture. Therefore, an interesting clause was included in this signed agreement: Azerbaijan and European Union unconditional Memorandum on the sale of gas between… In other words, they did not impose any obligation on us to supply Russia, Iran, etc. against countries do this, don’t do that, etc. We are a small country, our intention is our own national centered around our interests. We see the means to provide them in the form of mutual cooperation within the neighborhood policy. We are not a small country like Qatar, but we have the ambition to influence their internal politics from London to Algeria. We know what our energy and capabilities are, from which point to which point we have the ability to go safely”.

After all, annual to Europe until 2027 20 will we be able to provide billion cubic meters of gas?

According to I. Shaban, the Memorandum did not specifically state that we should sell this much gas on that date: “It’s just that the intention has been expressed that we can sell up to 20 billion cubic meters of gas. on July 18 USA On the page of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the European Commission information was given: to double natural gas exports to Europe in 2027 compared to 2021. I reminded that last year we sold a total of 8.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe. When this is doubled, it becomes 17 billion cubic meters. This number, of course, “AbsheronIt is possible to increase more at the expense of -2″ bed. Unfortunately, the President of Azerbaijan was promised at the level of the vice-president of the Total company that production would start in the first half of 2022, but it did not happen, and it will not happen in the second half of the year. It is not expected that production will finally start in the first half of next year. I express this prediction based on what I saw, heard and heard during my visit to the Oil Rocks. Why do they do that, what about the partner of “Total” in that project SOCAR makes a statement, neither SOCARWe heard a statement from “Asprim” company, which controls all productions. This leads to the fact that years pass, but no gas is produced. As a result, compared to BP, Total behaves very badly, not even in my view as a Western company. Iran, presents as African companies. Until now – the contract was signed in 2009, the field was opened in 2011, neither a press conference was held nor a statement was made about what work we have done, from what point to what stage, how much work has been done, how much time is left, the initial What was the capital investment volume of oil production? Until now, all these questions have remained unanswered, nothing is known, they are all hidden. If I make these statements in Europe, if I reveal the opaque activities in Azerbaijan, it will probably affect the value of Total’s shares…”

Turgut



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