SOCAR faces logistics challenges in delivering equipment to the Caspian

The energy infrastructure Azerbaijan has built in the Caspian region over several decades has become a key factor enabling the efficient development of new oil and gas fields, SOCAR vice-president Babak Huseynov said.

He noted that after large-scale projects such as ACG, the market must shift its focus to “several hundred million barrels” medium-sized fields.

“We used to be spoiled with billion-barrel reserves. But several hundred million barrels is still a medium-sized field, and we already have the infrastructure to develop them,” Huseynov said.

He added that existing pipelines and export routes allow new fields to be developed more efficiently without the need for major offshore platforms.

“You simply connect them to the infrastructure. We are already working with BP on such opportunities,” he said.

According to Huseynov, one of the biggest challenges for Azerbaijan’s energy sector remains bureaucratic procedures and logistics difficulties related to bringing equipment into the Caspian.

“Sometimes water levels in rivers and shifts in transport channels make equipment delivery more complicated. Managing these processes has become more difficult,” he said.

Huseynov noted that SOCAR is working to reduce these barriers by using joint venture structures with international partners more flexibly.

“JV mechanisms give us an advantage, and SOCAR is using that framework increasingly effectively,” he said.

N.Tabrizli