The International Caspian Oil and Gas – “Caspian Oil & Gas” and the 12th Caspian International Energy and Green Energy – “Caspian Power” exhibitions have been held in our republic for 30 years.
President Ilham Aliyev said in his speech at the official opening ceremony of the exhibitions held on June 4, 2024 at the Baku Expo Center within the framework of the Baku Energy Week: “The Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition began its activity thirty years ago in 1994, Azerbaijan’s played an important role in attracting foreign direct investments to the energy sector. Since then, this event has grown into a larger event and now it is called Baku Energy Week, as it covers all the main segments of energy policy – oil, gas, exploration and production, processing and transport, and of course green energy.”
As it is known, the Republic of Azerbaijan faced many serious difficulties after gaining independence. After national leader Heydar Aliyev returned to power in 1993 at the request of the people, these difficulties disappeared and the danger over Azerbaijan disappeared. Decisive steps were taken to strengthen the independence of our country. As a result of the great leader Heydar Aliyev’s intense activity, political stability was established in our country, a ceasefire was reached, and large-scale economic reforms were started. With this, the financial situation in the country stabilized, the amount of investments involved in the economy increased year by year, and the standard of living of the people began to improve. One of the solutions to the economic difficulties faced by our republic at that time was to increase oil and gas production.
The Great Leader Heydar Aliyev at that time saw the future development of our country in the establishment of cooperation with Western companies based on national interests, and despite many difficulties, he managed to realize this great concept in a short period of time. With the signing of the “Contract of the Century”, the foundation of Azerbaijan’s development strategy and long-term development concept was laid. “On the joint development of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) field block and the deep-lying part of the “Guneshli” field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, and the distribution of oil production. “The contract between the State Oil Company (SOCAR) and the world’s well-known oil companies was signed on September 20, 1994 in the “Gulüstan” palace of Baku. According to the Decree of National Leader Heydar Aliyev dated August 16, 2001, September 20 is celebrated annually in Azerbaijan as the professional holiday of oil workers – “Oil Workers’ Day”. 13 oil companies (Amoco, BP, McDermott, Unocal, SOCAR, LUKoil) from 8 countries – Azerbaijan, USA, Great Britain, Norway, Japan, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia – were included in the “Contract of the Century”. “Statoil” (currently “Equinor”), “Exxon”, “Turkey Petrolleri”, “Pennzoil”, “Itochu”, “Remco”, “Delta”) participated. With this, the foundation of the oil strategy and doctrine of independent Azerbaijan was laid. The agreement, prepared and signed as a result of the leadership and efforts of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, is considered one of the largest agreements concluded in the world both in terms of the amount of hydrocarbon reserves and the volume of investments. The “Contract of the Century” has an exceptional role in strengthening Azerbaijan’s independence and taking its rightful place among world powers.
Despite being rich in energy resources and known as an exporter of energy resources in the world, the use of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan has always been in the center of attention. One of the main goals of the energy security policy implemented under the leadership of President Mr. Ilham Aliyev is to strengthen the use of renewable energy sources in our country. In addition to the diversification of energy sources, meeting the world’s energy demand without harming the environment is one of the urgent issues, and in this sense, reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere by using renewable energy sources is an invaluable contribution to ecology. By increasing the production of alternative energy, Azerbaijan can reduce natural gas consumption. The saved natural gas can be used as a raw material in industry, and can be exported to earn additional currency for the country. At present, humanity’s fight against climate change is becoming stronger and globalized day by day. Reducing the amount of harmful waste released into the atmosphere and replacing it with “green energy” has become one of the most important issues of the world agenda. Countries around the world are planning a number of plans to reduce the activity of nuclear power plants, as well as to replace coal and gas-fired power plants with “green energy” sources. Azerbaijan, in turn, implements projects that meet global challenges. “The use of renewable energy sources in our country leads to the prevention of environmental pollution and the economical use of traditional energy sources. It should be noted that in recent years, both the strengthening of the legal framework and large-scale measures at the practical level have been implemented in order to ensure the large-scale use of alternative and renewable energy in our country.
Abilfaz MAHMUDOV, Member of the Public Council under Binagadi District Executive Power, Energy