Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez, Turkey-Azerbaijan II. In his press statement after the Energy Forum, he stated that especially energy security is one of the important agenda items in the meetings of the presidents of the two countries. Minister Dönmez said: “We also talked to the Minister. It was decided to increase the TANAP pipeline capacity up to two times. Currently, TANAP transports 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. 10 billion cubic meters of this goes to Europe and 6 billion cubic meters to Turkey. “I hope we will double this capacity to 32 billion cubic meters in a short time. No doubt, Turkey will also benefit from this capacity increase, and it will also contribute to Europe’s energy supply security.”
Joint company of BOTAŞ and SOCAR will start its activities
In his speech within the scope of the forum, Dönmez said that the first meeting held in Baku last year showed new areas of cooperation between the two countries and contributed to the increasing progress of the dialogue. Stating that they will continue to work in line with the new targets determined within the scope of today’s meeting, Dönmez said, “In this whole process, the efforts and capabilities of our companies have a great impact, as well as the strong political will of our countries. At this point, we are pleased that SOCAR is the largest foreign investor in Turkey. On this occasion, I would like to express once again my wish that the strong support and encouragement SOCAR gives to the activities it carries out in our country will be given to the Turkish Petroleum Corporation and Pipelines and Petrol Taşıma AŞ (BOTAŞ) in Azerbaijan.” he said. Stating that they aim to realize the energy transformation in Turkey with a solid, predictable and applicable roadmap, Dönmez continued as follows: “We know that Azerbaijan, a country with important hydrocarbon resources, has similar goals for energy transformation. We strongly support our support at every stage. As both our public and private sectors, we will always continue to stand by Azerbaijan in the implementation of the ‘Green Energy’ concept, which is planned to be implemented in the regions liberated from the occupation with the Homeland War we showed. In the near future, we are planning to sign an intergovernmental agreement that will further the cooperation in our energy sector. Again, very soon, with the start of the activities of the joint company established by BOTAŞ and SOCAR, we want to further our relations. We will have taken an important step in China.” Dönmez also called on the representatives of the private sector to put forward projects for the benefit of both countries and to strengthen the brotherhood between the two countries.
Natural gas will be supplied to Nakhchivan from Turkey
Azerbaijan Energy Minister Perviz Shahbazov, in his speech, stated that strong Azerbaijan-Turkey cooperation in energy is a historical necessity and said, “This cooperation is the guarantor of safe and sustainable energy supply on a regional and European scale.” said.
Shahbazov reported that Azerbaijan’s capital in Turkey has reached 21 billion dollars. Pointing out that the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) projects have become symbols of security of supply, Şahbazov shared the following information: “Azerbaijan and Turkey have become countries with strategic interests in the continuous provision of energy security, which European countries are trying to establish partnerships with. TANAP has made Turkey an important link in natural gas supply and meets a significant part of its gas need. 18 billion cubic meters of natural gas was supplied to Turkey from July 2018 to October 2022. In 9 months of this year, Turkey 4.2 billion cubic meters of the 6.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas reaching Turkey was met by TANAP. Our gas exports to Turkey will reach 9.3 billion cubic meters by 2023. We have plans to expand TANAP and TAP. Europe by 2027” We aim to renew our mission to strengthen energy security and diversify supply by doubling the supply of natural gas. Shahbazov is currently one of the issues on the common agenda of the two countries. Noting that the main goal is to supply natural gas from Turkey to Nakhichevan, he stated that they are looking forward to the completion of the pipeline, which will carry 500 million cubic meters of natural gas annually from Iğdır to Nakhichevan, and the construction of the natural gas line.
Renewable energy projects will be added to hydrocarbon projects in cooperation
Expressing that the cooperation potentials in electricity energy exports from Nakhchivan to Turkey, 100 megawatts of wind and 150 megawatts of rooftop solar energy projects were evaluated, Shahbazov said: “In this context, Azerbaijan is preparing to become a reliable source of ‘green energy’ for its partners. To this end, large-scale work is underway on the creation of large-scale generation facilities, the ‘green energy’ corridor and other export routes, including the use of the 157 gigawatts of wind potential of the Caspian Sea. After the forum, the ministers signed the Turkey-Azerbaijan Energy Forum protocol.