Minister: Nearly 53M tons of oil delivered to Türkiye, int'l markets via BTC

Nearly 53 million tons of Azerbaijani, Kazakh, and Turkmen oil have been delivered to Türkiye and international markets via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline over the past year and during the first 11 months of this year, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov stated at the 5th meeting of the Energy Ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) member countries held in Istanbul, Türkiye, Report informs.

"During this period, Türkiye was supplied with 18.7 billion cubic meters of gas, while European countries received 24.6 billion cubic meters via Türkiye. Compared to last year, gas supplies to Hungary have increased more than sevenfold this year. There is intensive cooperation between our countries in the supply of oil and petrochemical products," the minister said.

Shahbazov also pointed out that the development of the OTS is a key strategic priority for Azerbaijan: "Last year, trade turnover with member and observer states exceeded $7.3 billion. Over 70-80 percent of our mutual investment portfolio, which exceeds $20 billion, is concentrated in the energy sector. Joint investment funds and numerous projects, particularly cooperation in the energy sector, make a significant contribution to economic growth, as clearly reflected in the sector's dynamics."

He underlined that currently, Azerbaijan's energy cooperation with other Turkic states within the OTS framework has entered a new phase through both bilateral and regional projects.

"Through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, TANAP, and Southern Gas Corridor projects, the Azerbaijan-Türkiye strategic energy partnership, which has played a decisive role in the region's and Europe's energy security for many years, is today successfully expanding. The commissioning of the İğdır–Nakhchivan gas pipeline, Türkiye Petrolleri's participation in the Shafaq-Asiman project, and the delivery of 366 million cubic meters of gas to Syria to date demonstrate new successes of our strategic alliance," Shahbazov added.

"Our active cooperation with Türkiye and Hungary in the field of oil and gas exploration and production now also extends to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Recently, a joint exploration project in the Üstyurt region was officially launched through the collaboration of SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz, and a joint operating company was established."