BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.12
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
Fitch Ratings affirmed Southern Gas Corridor CJSC's (SGC) senior unsecured Eurobond's long-term foreign-currency rating at 'BB+'. The affirmation reflects Fitch's unchanged view on SGC's USD2 billion Eurobonds maturing in 2026 fully guaranteed by the Republic of Azerbaijan (BB+/Stable). Fitch rating agency noted that Southern Gas Corridor CJSC’s total needs for cash in 2022 will be fully covered by proceeds from projects. As all of its projects are already commissioned, SGC's total needs for cash in 2022 will be fully covered by proceeds from the Shah Deniz, South Caucasus Pipeline, Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) projects, along with accumulated cash.
SOCAR reacted to Ukraine’s proposal about using its underground gas storages. Ukraine’s deputy energy minister Yaroslav Demchenkov earlier said that Ukrainian underground storage facilities, which should be filled with Azerbaijani gas, could well strengthen Europe’s energy security. SOCAR said Azerbaijan has underground gas storages, which are used regularly for seasonal increasing gas supplies within the country. In the case of necessity, these gas storages can also be used for regulating the volume of exported gas.
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) consortium said the pipeline will require 4 years to reach the capacity of 20 billion cubic meters per year.
JOCAP, the Joint Operating company of the Absheron field on behalf of Contractor Parties SOCAR Absheron and TOTAL E&P Absheron BV updated on works for Absheron gas field development project.
Topside modules fabrication EPS Platform at Absheron gas field in Azerbaijan is going as per contractor schedule and the majority of the scope of work has been already completed.
This fabrication remains critical for the overall schedule of the project and under very close monitoring. As for hydro tests, these are part of the pre-commissioning activities. The company already achieved significant progress and is in line with objectives to complete them before the load out of modules.
The last equipment (filtration unit) has been delivered to the Baku Deep Water Jacket yard for the Absheron gas field and is already under integration within the modules. Regarding the offshore campaign for the umbilical laying, indeed, the umbilical has been satisfactory laid on the sea bed last year, and the final survey is on its way.
Prior to tie-in activities to the AZNEFT PU Oil Rocks Facilities as part of the Absheron gas field project in Azerbaijan, many repair works had to be conducted. Those works are ongoing and near completion. Tie-in works are already started and we expect the first cables and piping spools to start installation soon. The year 2022 is the corner stone for the project with the installation of all offshore structures and the completion of the tie-ins.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and OPEC published forecasts for Azerbaijan’s oil production.
The International Energy Agency expects Azerbaijan’s oil production to stand at 0.70 million barrels per day in 2022, as compared to 0.72 million barrels per day in the previous report. The agency forecasts the country’s oil output at 0.70 million barrels per day in Q1 and 0.71 million barrels per day in Q2 and Q3 each. No data is available for the Q4 2022.
The US Energy Information Administration expects that petroleum and other liquids production in Azerbaijan will stand at 0.74 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2022, unchanged from the previous forecast. EIA estimates that Azerbaijan will produce 0.74 mb/d in the first three quarters of 2022 and 0.73 mb/d in Q4. Azerbaijan is expected to produce 0.71 million barrels per day in 2023. The quarterly production will stand at 0.72 million barrels per day in Q1, 0.71 million barrels per day in Q2, 0.70 million barrels per day in Q3 and 0.72 million barrels per day in Q4.
OPEC data shows that Azerbaijan’s liquids supply is expected to grow by 0.08 mb/d y-o-y for an average of 0.82 mb/d.
The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have expressed commitment to expand their cooperation with Azerbaijan in the renewable energy sphere.
The World Bank is looking at helping Azerbaijan to assess
opportunities in offshore wind space. The WB has been working with
the government to look at the building blocks to maximize the
efficiency and effectiveness of the electricity market in the
country, ways to promote the maximum reliability, cost
effectiveness, with the view to ensuring best possible access for
consumers of electricity whether that’s households, schools,
businesses.
The Asian Development Bank may upscale the development of floating
solar system in Azerbaijan. ADB currently implements Floating Solar
Energy Development project, which will pilot test high technology,
enabling the countries to leapfrog in knowledge and capacity and
increase readiness for private sector participation in large-scale,
land-based, and floating solar development. Based on the project’s
outcome ADB may also upscale the development of floating solar
system in Azerbaijan.
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