BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20. This week, the management of the Azerbaijan State Oil Company (SOCAR) has met with their colleagues from Uzbekneftegaz JSC, state-owned holding company of Uzbekistan's oil and gas industry.
Special interest was shown to the creation of "SOCAR Trading" joint venture. The sides also discussed the project of modernization of the Uzbek Bukhara Oil Refinery, as well as the joint development of fields both in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. At the same time, SOCAR management expressed its readiness to become an operator of energy projects in Uzbekistan.
Also, within the framework of SOCAR's visit to Uzbekistan, a Memorandum of Understanding on the promotion of cooperation in the field of decarbonization was signed with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
SOCAR and Japanese companies will accelerate the implementation of projects that contribute to reducing carbon emissions. In line with the global trend towards decarbonization, the companies will exchange information on implementing low-carbon technologies, including CCS (carbon capture and storage) and CCUS (carbon capture, use, and storage), hydrogen, and ammonia projects.
Meanwhile, this week, the first solar panel was installed at 'Garadagh' solar power plant in Azerbaijan - a project implemented jointly with the UAE's Masdar company.
The Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, together with CEO of Masdar company Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, inspected the area where the 230 MW ‘Garadagh’ solar power plant is being built.
As part of the solar power plant project, the construction of relevant roads has been completed, the area for the installation of solar panels has been leveled and kilometers of territory have been fenced off. It is also planned to install more than 500,000 solar panels, each side of which can generate electricity with a capacity of 545-550 watts.
At the same time, as Javid Abdullayev, Director of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources under the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, told Trend, the work on the 'Garadagh' solar power plant project is already in its final stage.
"The power plant is planned to be put into operation by the end of the year. Within the framework of the project, the construction of roads has been completed, kilometers of territory have been fenced, a platform for placing solar panels has been leveled. The construction of the substation is in full swing. Manufactured solar panels are gradually being brought to the site. The number of panels that will be installed here as part of the project is more than 500,000 units. The area of the land allocated for the project is 550 hectares. Direct contracts with the Masdar company have already been signed," Abdullayev said.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's production of commercial gas from January through April 2023 increased by 1.9 percent year-on-year, the latest data from the State Statistical Committee says.
The total natural gas production during this period reached 16.142 billion cubic meters, including 12.215 billion cubic meters of commercial gas. The annual growth rate of natural gas production was 2.5 percent.
At the same time, over 7.346 bcm of gas were transported through the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) from January to April 2023, compared to 6.783 bcm for the same period in 2022. As such, the volume of gas deliveries through the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline increased by 8.3 percent compared to the same period last year.
As Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, reported this week, Azerbaijan has supplied 611.8 million cubic meters of natural gas to Europe in March 2023. The value of exports during the reporting period stood at 595 988 162 euros.
In particular, Italy purchased natural gas worth 486 051 445 euros from Azerbaijan via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in the reporting period of 2023, while Bulgaria paid 30 492 637 euros for Azerbaijani natural gas, and Greece paid a total of 79 444 080 euros.