BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 19. The most important event of this week was the groundbreaking of the 230 MW Garadagh Solar Power Plant to be built in Azerbaijan by Masdar company of the United Arab Emirates. The Garadagh Solar Power Plant will generate 500 million kilowatts per hour of electricity per year, which will reduce gas consumption by 110 million cubic meters and prevent harmful emissions of 200,000 tons into the environment.
Moreover, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency was signed between Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY) and Masdar company. The main purpose of the memorandum is to formalize the intention of the parties to explore the possibilities of using renewable energy sources in the railway sector and implement a comprehensive energy efficiency program.
Another remarkable event of the week was TAP supplies to Europe reaching 10 billion cubic meters since the date of commissioning. It is planned to increase the volume of gas exports to Turkey and Europe via the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), the longest section of the Southern Gas Corridor by 18 percent in 2022, as compared to 2021, when TANAP delivered a total of 13.73 billion cubic meters.
The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) project was again in focus this week. In response to some media reports about possible postponement of the pipeline’s commissioning till autumn, the project company ICGB AD said that as of right now, the deadline for commissioning of the gas interconnector is July 1st as per the approved timeline. The EPC contractor is expected to complete all remaining tasks by the end of May, leaving about a month for all administrative procedures before commissioning. These procedures usually take 3 months, so that may pose a challenge. However, administrative and political support is expected to decrease that estimated timeline. At the same time, an interdepartmental working group with representatives of all relevant state institutions has been set up to work on options for optimizing the administrative deadlines of the procedures prior to the commercial launch of IGB. The activities on the linear part are in the final phase, the construction of the above-ground facilities is well progressing and 50% of the activities for construction of block valves have already been completed. For 75 percent of the route the hydro tests for the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria have been completed, which is the final phase of the work on the linear part of the project. The EPC contractor estimates the completion of all hydro tests, including on the block valves, to be completed by mid-April at the latest. A significant progress on the implementation of the gas metering station near Stara Zagora was made, which is ready at 80%. Due to delays in the deliveries to Greece, the gas metering station near Komotini is at an earlier stage of implementation, completed at 50%. Work is underway on the construction of the dispatching center near Haskovo, where 80% of the construction activities have been completed and the installation of the necessary control and management equipment is forthcoming.
The company advising Petronas on sale of interests in Shah Deniz named. It is Dentons, which previously advised Petronas on the acquisition of its interests in the Shah Deniz project from Statoil (Equinor) in 2014. Kulevi Oil Terminal of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has reached 30 million tons of transshipment volume.
Timeframe for launching SOCAR Turkey R&D first digital project was announced. It is planned to launch the first digital project developed by SOCAR Turkey’s Research and Development (R&D) and Innovation Center in July 2022. The first tranche of funding for the project will be allocated in September 2022.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed forecasts for Azerbaijan’s oil output. IEA expects Azerbaijan’s oil production to stand at 0.70 million barrels per day in 2022, unchanged from the previous report. The agency forecasts the country’s oil output at 0.70 million barrels per day in Q1 and 0.69 million barrels per day in Q2 and Q3 each. No data is available for the Q4 2022. IEA also evaluated Azerbaijan’s OPEC+ compliance. Azerbaijan’s oil supply (excluding condensates) stood at 0.57 million barrels per day in February 2022, as compared to 0.58 million barrels per day in January 2022. The country’s compliance with OPEC+ agreement in February 2022 was 303 percent.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn