Rovshan Najaf: Azerbaijan ready to strengthen its role in energy security in Europe, other regions

Azerbaijan plays a vital role in ensuring energy security not only in Europe but also in the wider region and is ready to expand its participation in this process, Rovshan Najaf, president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), said at the 16th Kazenergy Eurasian Forum "A New Energy Order: Focus on Middle Powers," Report informs.

"Currently, Azerbaijan plays a vital role not only in ensuring energy security in Europe but also in the wider region… In August, we began gas supplies to Syria, and if we had been asked about this six months earlier, we would have said that this was not in our plans. We are ready to play a major role in ensuring energy security in the wider region. We have sufficient resources for this," Najaf said.

He noted that, at the request of its European partners, SOCAR has increased gas exports to Europe by almost 60% at a critical moment since 2022, without any European funding.

According to the head of the State Oil Company, the construction of the existing infrastructure for gas exports to Europe was financed by Azerbaijan and its partners, who assumed all the risks. There were no plans to expand the infrastructure until 2022. However, to ensure continued sustainability and large-volume supplies, gas pipeline expansion is necessary.

"SOCAR is ready to further increase gas supplies to Europe, subject to cooperation from its European partners. First and foremost, this means securing long-term contracts, and secondly, joint investment with us in expanding the infrastructure. We require support from European Union financial institutions and financing from European countries," he said.

SOCAR's head also added that the company estimates that oil and gas will continue to be used for decades to come: "As for gas, we believe it will be used at least until 2070 and beyond. That is why we are investing in gas projects."

Furthermore, he emphasized that SOCAR "has many other plans that we want to implement and invest in."