Shahbazov says Azerbaijan to launch several new gas projects by 2029

Azerbaijan plans to bring on stream several new oil and gas projects between 2027 and 2029, including the Karabakh field, Shah Deniz Compression, Absheron, Umid Phase 2 and the Bahar-Gum Deniz gas projects, Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said on Monday.

Speaking at Baku Energy Week, Shahbazov said Azerbaijan’s energy sector was entering a new phase of development driven by oil and gas production, green energy partnerships and international investments.

According to the minister, the start of non-associated gas production at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field marks a new stage in the country’s energy development.

He said the Karabakh oil field is expected to come on stream in 2027, while the Shah Deniz Compression project, the full-field development of Absheron, Umid Phase 2 and the Bahar-Gum Deniz projects are expected to start operations in 2029.

Shahbazov said Azerbaijan’s strategic importance is increasingly determined not by the volume of energy it produces but by its ability to connect regions and markets.

According to the minister, Azerbaijan exports oil to more than 20 countries and natural gas to 16 countries, making it one of the world’s leading suppliers in terms of the geographical reach of pipeline gas exports.

He said Azerbaijan accounted for 8.1% of the European Union’s pipeline gas imports last year.

Over the past year and in the first four months of this year, Azerbaijan exported 16.7 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas to Europe, 12.8 bcm to Turkey, 3.3 bcm to Georgia and 800 million cubic metres to Syria, Shahbazov said.

The minister said Azerbaijan is implementing plans to develop 8 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2032. Integration of 2 GW of this capacity into the national grid is expected to be completed next year.

Studies aimed at increasing the share of renewables in installed power generation capacity to around 43% by 2035 are nearing completion, he added.

N. Tebrizli