September 20 is the Oilmen’s Day in Azerbaijan, the day of signing the international contract of the century under the leadership of the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. This year the project has turned 28 years old.
Since the beginning of ACG development in 2001, the total revenue from the sale of profitable oil from the block has exceeded $160 billion.
Since the commissioning of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) fields, 560.2 million tons of oil were produced as of September 1, 2022.
ACG is the largest block of oil fields in Azerbaijan and the first contract in the world that has been signed twice, which underlines its high significance to this day.
The rising global demand for oil contributes to the growth of the investment attractiveness of the Caspian fields, as well as to the growth of the international authority of the Caspian countries.
The contract of the XX century, as the Western media “dubbed” it right away after its signing, smoothly acquired the status of a project of the XXI century. It continues to contribute to the strengthening of the international authority of Azerbaijan on the world stage. This is reflected in the successful visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Italy in early September.
In the interviews with the European media, President Ilham Aliyev said that a very active political dialogue has been established between Italy and Azerbaijan, and the two countries are developing ties in the fields of economy, energy and education. Commissioned a year and a half ago, the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP) transported 13.5 bcm to Europe. Italy accounted for 11.7 bcm of this volume, and this year it is planned to transport 10 billion cubic meters to the Italian market.
The TAP pipeline, which has a capacity of 10 billion cubic meters, is currently operating at full swing. This volume has to be increased at least to 20 bcm, which requires additional financial resources. Azerbaijan is ready for it as an investor, but it is necessary to have also other investors involved in this process. Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainain war we have received official requests from more than 10 countries asking to increase the export volumes or commence the export of Azerbaijani gas.
Thus, the value of the contract of the century also lies in the fact that it is the point from which the gas component of the world’s energy security began to form. According to the contract of the XX century, associated gas was to be transferred to Azerbaijan free of charge. Today, the liquidity of gas supplies from the Shah Deniz field is as good as that of oil supplies.
In his interview, the President of Azerbaijan said that the volume of the country’s confirmed natural gas reserves is 2.6 trillion cubic meters, it is planned to double the volume of gas supplies to Europe, agreements with Italy, Greece and Bulgaria have been signed, and gas transportation to other countries of the continent is being estimated. President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that Italy will become a country transiting Azerbaijan’s hydrocarbon resources to other regions of Europe.
