BP sees Azerbaijan as a global energy hub for decades

BP sees Azerbaijan developing into a world-class energy hub for decades to come, supported by large hydrocarbon reserves, export infrastructure, a business-friendly environment and a highly skilled workforce, BP’s regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, Giovanni Cristofoli said on Monday.

Speaking at Baku Energy Week, Cristofoli said the Caspian region remained one of the world’s major hydrocarbon provinces and was supported by export infrastructure operating with reliability levels among the highest in the industry.

“Our vision is to establish Azerbaijan and this part of the world as a world-class energy hub for decades to come,” he said.

Cristofoli described the Shah Deniz gas field as the backbone of regional energy security, noting that it contains around 28 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.

“That’s enough to power the UK for 10 years,” he said.

BP is continuing to invest in the field to maximize recovery, including through the Shah Deniz Compression project, a $2.9 billion investment that will include a fully electrified and unmanned offshore compression platform.

According to Cristofoli, the facility will be the first of its kind in the Caspian Sea.

He said BP was also deploying new drilling technologies to improve recovery from increasingly complex wells at Shah Deniz, including controlled mud line technology designed to manage pressure in challenging reservoir conditions.

Cristofoli said Azerbaijan’s growing pool of engineering and technical specialists was increasingly supporting BP operations beyond the country, comparing Baku’s role within the company to energy industry centres such as Houston and Aberdeen.

“We are transforming Baku into the new Houston or the new Aberdeen,” he said.

N.Tebrizli