"The management of the French Total Company today informed me of discovering large gas reserves on the Absheron field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. And in my turn, I want to present this glad news to the public. I want to congratulate all Azerbaijani people on this event. Indeed it is a great event. Discovering large gas reserves on the Absheron field is a great contribution to the development of Azerbaijan's gas potential," President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in a statement for press.
President said Absheron field was discovered by the Azerbaijani geologists in 1960s. "However, given the depth of the water, then we did not have a possibility to conduct work on this field. As a result of Azerbaijan's oil strategy, and the policy pursued at Heydar Aliyev's initiative, Azerbaijan's opportunities have enormously grown. Now we possess rigs which can conduct drilling and exploration in any part of the Caspian Sea," said the President.
"The exploration now enables to say that a result has been achieved. I want to once again mention that a very large gas field has been discovered in Absheron. This will enable us to even more confidently implement our gas strategy, more present Azerbaijan at the global level as a gas-exporting country, protect the interests of the Azerbaijani people. For many years after this and for decades after this, Azerbaijan will internationally represent itself as a gas-exporting country and our importance as a state will surely further grow," President Aliyev said.
"Our energy strategy aims to ensure the interests of the Azerbaijani people and strengthen regional cooperation. Important steps have been taken in this regard. Today we have multi-vector energy transportation infrastructure. We have seven oil and gas pipelines. Today, Azerbaijani oil and gas are delivered to European and global markets through various routes. Azerbaijan was traditionally known as an oil country. But today Azerbaijan is more important as a gas-exporting country for the world. We productively use these opportunities. We have many plans. We conduct practical activities to expand our multi-vector export opportunities. I am sure that all transit issues will find their solution by the end of this year and thus, new markets will be found for huge Azerbaijani gas. The European Union and Azerbaijan have productive relations and cooperation in this regard. In this January the European Union and Azerbaijan signed an important Declaration on South Gas Corridor and a working group was established. I am sure that today's negotiations will soon lead to good results. At the same time, discovering a new huge gas field is a great contribution to Azerbaijan's energy security. We could completely ensure our energy security. The Umid field, discovered a while ago by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, also possesses great potential. The field contains more than 300 billion cubic meters gas. The activities on our largest Shah Deniz field, which ranks among the tops in the world, are conducted successfully. All preparations are carried out to develop Phase 2 of the Shah Deniz field. Serious discussions are conducted with the foreign partners in this regard. Thus, Azerbaijan's gas potential shows its importance not only for our country, region, but also for the world. At the same time, specific steps are taken to gasify Azerbaijan, new gas lines are laid in all regions. A task has been set to resolve all gasification issues of Azerbaijan over the next two years and thus, to completely gasify Azerbaijan. Specific instructions have been given in this regard. Azerbaijan's policy in this direction is accurate and exact, and serves national interests of the Azerbaijani people. I believe that such glad news will be much in future. Exploration and drilling activities will be conducted on other fields in next years and thus, new opportunities will be created for Azerbaijan's development. So, I would like to again congratulate Azerbaijani people on this glad event. It is indeed a very important event. It again testifies that Azerbaijan has great opportunities, potential and nice future," President said.