(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By Ayya Lmahamad
Shifts that are taking place in global geopolitics directly
affect the situation on the energy track. Today the energy market
is going through very difficult times with a very high level of
volatility and this is highly reflected in the European market. The
current situation in the world showed that the EU's dependence on
energy imports is critical, as is its dependence on a single
supplier. Now it is either impossible to reduce this dependence, or
it is plausible but comes at a high cost.
Q: What is behind the current gas shortage/crisis in the
world market?
A: We should bear in mind that the problems on the EU
energy map are reflected on the global energy map. Because when
there is an acute shortage of gas in a certain region, this region
needs to look for new suppliers, and if these supplies are
reoriented to a new market, problems arise in the former
market.
At the same time, one of the main reasons why now there is
insufficient gas in the world market is simply because leading
economies and investors do not want to invest in the development of
new gas sources. Europe set a goal to develop alternative energy
sources, reduce traditional gas usage, and transit to green energy.
However, we can see that the implementation of projects related to
alternative energy is severely stalled, and the countries do not
tend to invest much in the oil and gas sector.
Speaking at the official opening ceremony of the 27th
International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition on the sidelines of the
Baku Energy Week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that
now there is a need to build new bridges, build new connections
into connectors and work toward the expansion of the country's gas
presence on the European market.
He underlined that there is a need for contracts, for the
beginning and speeding up negotiations, for the work with
traditional partners, investors and energy companies, as well as
for the expansion of existing facilities.
Q: What is Azerbaijan's promise to energy-hungry
nations?
A: Azerbaijan has enough gas reserves in order to
increase gas supplies to the world market, but what is needed is
investments and infrastructure projects. President Aliyev in his
speech stressed that 'Azerbaijan is thinking about the expansion
now as there is a demand for that, but this will take time, take a
lot of financial resources, close coordination, cooperation and
active dialogue with all countries involved'.
“Taking into account that there are now new challenges, and new
demands, of course, we are already in negotiations with other
potential consumers. But for that, of course, only our efforts will
not be sufficient,” he said.
There must be investments in infrastructure in Europe, building
new interconnectors and of course, agreeing on the terms. Everyone
knows that in the gas business, first, you sell the gas, sign the
contract and then start to invest and extract. First, the buyers
need to indicate what volumes they need and sign long-term supply
contacts, as in order to decide how much should be invested in the
development of the fields in Azerbaijan, it needs to be known how
much buyers will import.
Aliyev, who has traditionally been against borrowing from
foreign creditors, even said that Azerbaijan is ready to borrow
funds from leading financial institutions there will be projects of
global importance, and the projects that are important for
Azerbaijan.
Q: Does Azerbaijan have enough gas reserves to increase its
supplies to the world market?
A: Azerbaijan has already proved itself to be a very
reliable supplier and player in the world market. In the first year
(2021), Europe planned to import only 5 billion cubic meters of gas
from Azerbaijan but ultimately received 8.1 billion cubic meters,
and this year it is planned to increase the volume by some 25
percent.
In his speech, Aliyev revealed that last year Azerbaijan
exported 22 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and this year the
projection is 24 billion cubic meters, and the next year even
more.
“There can be different figures depending on the activity of
production and also on activation of other fields which are
situated in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea because our
gas potential is not limited only with Shah Deniz,” he said.
He signaled that some of the gas fields are also very promising,
adding that some of them will start production next year.
“So that will be an important contribution to energy security,
especially now, when the demand for Azerbaijani hydrocarbons is
more than ever before. And we, as a responsible country take that
into account and we try to support countries which due to different
reasons face difficulties,” he said.
--
Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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