Ilham Aliyev: Azerbaijan known as reliable partner exporting oil, gas to markets

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 31 Trend: Azerbaijan is known in the world as a reliable partner producing and exporting oil and gas to markets, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said. He made the remarks at the opening of the 24th International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference and the 7th Caspian International Power and Alternative Energy Exhibition in Baku May 31. He went on to add that this already is the 24th exhibition being held in the country. The interest in the exhibition is not declining, on the contrary, it is growing, said the president “It was mentioned here that around 300 companies are participating in this exhibition. I am fully confident that this year’s exhibition will be successful as well. But, of course, the holding of the first exhibition played a special role in popularizing our country in the world, because at that time, Azerbaijan was not known. Azerbaijan was a young, independent country, there were a lot problems. The exhibition played an indispensible role in presenting our country’s oil and gas potential to the world,” said President Aliyev. The president expressed gratitude to the organizers of the exhibition, adding that they have been cooperating with Azerbaijan for 24 years already and have been making great contributions to the country’s development. He pointed out that the first exhibition had a special meaning in presenting Azerbaijan to the world as a country with huge potential. “Since then Azerbaijan has been able to build a very successful cooperation with foreign investors in the oil and gas sphere,” he added. The president noted that this cooperation was built on mutual interests. “Both the state and investors are reaping the benefits. An excellent format of cooperation with foreign investors has been created in Azerbaijan. Today, this format also manifests itself in other spheres,” he added. President Aliyev reminded that currently Azerbaijan’s main priority is the development of the non-oil sector. “We are now trying to apply our experience gained in the oil sector, especially our experience of cooperation with foreign investors, to the non-oil sector, and we have achieved success in this work.” He noted that Azerbaijan is an oil country and oil was first extracted here in 1846. “Historical documents have been revealed. A while ago I gave an instruction to once again review the documents at various libraries and museums of the world and to get more accurate information,” he said. President Aliyev noted that new historical documents were revealed and those documents show that oil was extracted in the first oil well in Azerbaijan, in Baku’s Bibiheybat area, in 1846. “This year we set up a monument to that old oil well in that area to celebrate this landmark event and I am sure the area will be of great interest for the tourists visiting Baku,” said Ilham Aliyev. He reminded that the first ever offshore extraction of oil in the world was carried out in Azerbaijan, in the Caspian Sea, in the mid-20th century. “In this sense, it can be said that Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea are the motherland of the offshore oil production,” added President Aliyev. Further in his speech, Ilham Aliyev said the Contract of the Century, signed in 1994, is a historic project, noting that the Contract of the Century has an exceptional place in the development of the Azerbaijani state. Ilham Aliyev also touched upon the extension of the contract on the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli. President Aliyev said he hopes that an agreement would be reached with foreign investors on the extension of this project in the near future. The Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field has a great potential, he said, adding the field has a big volume of oil that needs to be extracted. He further said the investment put in Azerbaijan is protected here transparently. Ilham Aliyev also touched upon the Shah Deniz project, reminding that the contract on this project was signed in 1996 at the Oil & Gas Exhibition. “That time Azerbaijan was known as solely an oil country. Implementation of the Shah Deniz project has turned Azerbaijan into a country producing, exporting both oil and gas,” he added.