On March 3, the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council were held at the Baku Convention Center. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the event.
The meeting brought together representatives of 27 countries, including Azerbaijan and various European nations, 11 international financial institutions and organizations, and 49 energy companies.
Opening the forum, Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov emphasized the importance of the Advisory Council as a platform for strengthening partnership in energy security and sustainable supply, and thanked President Ilham Aliyev for his steadfast leadership.
Addressing the gathering, President Ilham Aliyev noted that the initiative launched 12 years ago has demonstrated sustainability despite different challenges and complications over the years.
“Especially if we look back at these 12 years, we see different scenarios, different complications, challenges, and problems. But despite all those difficulties and very hard times in our region, energy security provided by Azerbaijan and its partners to a number of countries has really become something that we can feel on a daily basis,” the President said.
He underlined that Azerbaijan continues to expand the geography of its gas supplies.
“Last time I was addressing the audience, saying that we supply gas to 12 countries. Now the number of countries where Azerbaijani gas has reached its consumers has reached 16. And by this number, Azerbaijan is number one in the world with respect to the number of countries it supplies with pipeline gas,” President Aliyev stated.
The head of state also highlighted the start of gas exports beyond Europe.
“For the first time, we started to supply gas to Syria in order to help the Syrian people reduce the dramatic electric energy deficit. By supplying 1.5 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas to Syria, we helped the population be better protected and have more opportunities to do business,” he said.
President Aliyev outlined upcoming production plans. He noted that production from the ACG deep gas field is expected to begin this year. In two or three years, the full-phase development of the Absheron field is expected to start, which will increase gas production from Absheron three times. Gas production from the second phase of the Umid field is also expected to begin. Regarding Shah Deniz, he stated that in 2028 the beginning of production from a new phase is expected.
“All these gas production profiles will allow us, at the maximum level of production, to reach an additional 10 to 15 billion cubic meters of gas,” the President said, adding that expansion of the existing gas transportation infrastructure will be necessary, as “today the Southern Gas Corridor is already fully packed.”
Touching upon the green agenda, President Aliyev reported progress in renewable energy development.
“This January, we inaugurated the biggest wind power station in the region so far — 240 megawatts,” he said, recalling that in 2023 a 230-megawatt solar power station was built.
“I would like to underline that they are contracts, not MOUs — so they are contractual obligations. By 2032, we expect 6 to 8 gigawatts of electric power from renewable sources,” President Aliyev emphasized.
He stressed the need for a pragmatic approach to the energy transition.
“You cannot ignore fossil fuels. If you ignore fossil fuels, that means you live in your dreams,” the head of state said, adding that the combination of fossil fuels and renewables is the right way forward.
President Aliyev also noted Azerbaijan’s role as a reliable transit country and highlighted the growing volumes of oil transported from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through Azerbaijani infrastructure, as well as the country’s expanding energy assets in Türkiye, Italy, and Serbia.
EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen, addressing the meeting, stated that Azerbaijani gas supplies will remain “an important backbone of the EU’s energy security” and reaffirmed the European Union’s commitment to further strengthening strategic energy cooperation with Azerbaijan.
Following the opening session, the summit continued with ministerial and plenary discussions on sustaining the success and driving the next phase of development of the Southern Gas Corridor and green energy projects. The event will conclude with a press conference on its outcomes.
