"The security of Azerbaijan, through which energy resources are supplied, means the security of Europe"

Orhan Sattar, head of the European Bureau of Vestnik Kavkaza

Yesterday in Berlin, on the day of memory of the victims of the Khojaly tragedy, the third symposium on security and stability in the South Caucasus was held. The symposium, attracting every year an increasing number of high-ranking politicians in Germany, has become a platform for regular discussion of regional problems in the South Caucasus.

Speaking at the forum, the Vice-President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR/SOCAR), Elshad Nasirov, said that over the years thousands of Germans have been working in Azerbaijan: "Because of the conflicts between members of different religions and civilizations in the 21st century, I think it must be said that Azerbaijan was once a country where a lot of Germans came in search of protection from religious persecution in their native lands. Unfortunately, the Germans were driven out of the country during the Second World War. However, German heritage survived in our country. And I hope that this heritage will only be replenished in the future. "

The Vice-President of SOCAR/SOCAR thanked the speakers at the symposium for mentioning the fact that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to give women the right to vote. 
"I spoke in Washington in front of your colleagues in Congress, and one senator said that Azerbaijan began to extract oil and gave women the right to vote before the United States, and now he's proud of the fact that Azerbaijani soldiers are fighting shoulder to shoulder with American soldiers in Afghanistan. I should admit that I could not resist, and said that even in Afghanistan we came before the US troops, as part of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. And the best is that now Azerbaijani soldiers are performing a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, now we are on the good side. "

Speaking about Azerbaijan's role in the energy security of Europe, Nasirov said that the era of hydrocarbons began in Baku in 1848. The first well in which crude oil was produced was in Baku and marked the beginning of the hydrocarbon civilization.

According to the Vice President of SOCAR/GNCAR, "in 1900, Baku was producing 50% of all the oil in the world. If we trace from 1900 to 2015, the peak of oil prices fell in 1949, 1967, 1973 and 1979. The highest point of the price of oil reached in dollar terms was in 1920, when the Bolsheviks occupied Baku.

In the context of today's price levels, the situation is quite different. Oil prices had a negative impact on our economy. Of course, today Azerbaijan produces only 2% of the world's oil. But if we look at the role of this 2%, its value is much greater than our production volumes. A neutral state, which is not a member of any oil and gas associations and organizations, supplies oil to the Mediterranean market. Our crude oil can compete with major manufacturers, but we supply oil to the markets, from the west coast of the United States and Canada, Ecuador and Chile to the west and Japan and South Korea in the south, representing an alternative source of energy supplies to the European and other markets.

In 1994, more than 20 years ago, a very important contract was signed in Baku, which became known as the "Contract of the Century" because of its great importance, value and scale. 20 years later, last September, the opening ceremony of the construction of the "Southern Gas Corridor" was held, which will be one of the largest gas projects in the 21st century. I believe that today, when Europe has become a battlefield and needs unlimited access to energy resources, it is important to have an alternative way, not only a way, but also an alternative source of supply of resources. And, over the past few decades, Azerbaijan has been the only new source of gas supplies to Europe. We will supply 10 billion m3 of gas to Europe from 2020. Yes, shipments are not too large. But if we compare the dominant source of supply with new sources, we see that the German government began to buy gas from the Soviet Union 40 years ago. Today the situation has changed, and Germany and other European countries are in need of additional sources of supply and alternative ways of resources."

According to Elshad Nasirov, in a few years we will be able to assess the true value of diversification of supply: "Diversification of supply is important to us. However, if you compare the export of gas and oil exports, especially at a time when oil was expensive, of course, gas exports will not bring such as oil revenues. Compare the cost of one ton of crude oil and a thousand m3 of gas. One barrel costs about $60. To find out how much a ton of oil costs, multiply that rate by seven. Thus, at a time when a barrel of oil cost about $100, Azerbaijan received about $650 per ton. On the other hand, transportation of a thousand of cubic meters of gas to Italy costs no less than $250. And you know what the price of gas is now in Italy and in Germany. Thus, the income from the gas supply is not as significant for the supplier, compared to what the consumer gets from alternative sources of gas supply.

For the realization of this major project, $45-50 billion will be allocated. It will involve 20 companies and consumers, including German companies. The pipeline will run across 7 countries. 20 companies act as investors. And, of course, it will connect three pipelines - the South Caucasus Pipeline, TANAP and TAP. At the same time, conditions for the construction of gas platforms will be created, including the utilization of the Sangachal terminal. I am confident that, with the support of the German parliament, we will finish everything on time."

The Vice-President of SOCAR/GNCAR stated that he was not in Berlin in vain in the days of the memory of the tragic events in Khojaly: "A couple of weeks ago in Munich, the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina compared the tragedy in Khojaly with the tragedy in Srebrinitse. Of course, each nation has its own tragedy. You cannot compare the number of victims, because even the tragedy of one person is a tragedy. But, unlike Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have not solved all the problems with our neighbors finally. The Khojaly massacre occurred in a country that is still at war, because in 1994 we signed an armistice agreement. Armenia and Azerbaijan have not signed a peace treaty.

Thus, we need to combine the efforts of all our countries to restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as is stated in the UN Security Council resolution that demands an immediate and comprehensive withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories. As a result, the security of Azerbaijan, through which the path of energy supply runs, not only from Azerbaijan, but also from other countries of the Caspian region, means the security of Europe. And the more efforts to resolve the conflict we make, the safer the entire energy transport corridor will be. I take the liberty to say that Azerbaijan and SOCAR will become a reliable supplier of gas to Europe, as it is part of our national security strategy. I hope that in a few years we will meet here again to celebrate the first delivery of gas from Azerbaijan to the EU.""The security of Azerbaijan, through which energy resources are supplied, means the security of Europe"