Baku, June 14 (AZERTAC). President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso have visited the Sangachal Terminal.

A delegation led by President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso reviewed the Caspian Energy Centre.

It was said that the centre, which fully reflects the history of Azerbaijan`s oil and gas industry, widely promotes the country`s role in the world`s oil and gas industry. The Caspian Energy Centre was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by President Ilham Aliyev, senior officials from the USA, the UK, Georgia and Kazakhstan in 2005. The opening of the centre coincided with the commissioning of the Azerbaijani section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main oil export pipeline. During the inauguration ceremony, the guests left their handprints, which became a symbol of the Caspian Energy Centre.

The delegation was informed about the landmarks of Azerbaijan`s oil history. It was noted that one of the major goals of the centre is to present the 150-year history of Azerbaijan`s oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry is not of solely economic importance to Azerbaijan, as it is also a source of national pride. The world’s first oil well was mechanically drilled at Bibiheybat in 1847. At the end of the 19th century, half of the world’s oil was produced in Azerbaijan. In the latter half of the 19th century, foreign entrepreneurs, including the Rothschilds and the Nobel brothers, launched business activities in Azerbaijan. The Nobel Prize was founded by Alfred Nobel, who collected the funds by selling his shares in Baku oil fields. In World War Two, Azerbaijan contributed 75 per cent of the Soviet Union’s total oil production. By providing the army with fuel, Azerbaijan played a crucial role in ensuring the victory.

The 1970s-80s saw the development of deep-water fields of the Caspian Sea and progress in petrochemical industry. After Azerbaijan regained independence under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev, a production sharing agreement on the development of the gigantic “Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli” field, touted as the Contract of the Century, was signed. The contract gave a major impetus to the rapid development of the country, transforming it into a regional energy hub.

The guests reviewed samples of oil produced in different fields.

Then a video about the Shah-Deniz field and the Southern Gas Corridor was demonstrated.

President Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso were presented with some souvenirs.

While touring the terminal, the Presidents were informed that the Sangachal Terminal was considered “the beating heart” of Azerbaijan`s oil and gas industry.

It is an oil and gas terminal where crude oil and gas produced from Azerbaijani fields in the Caspian Sea are received, processed, stored and exported. Oil from Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli and gas from Shah-Deniz fields flow into the terminal and are exported largely via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and the Southern Caucasus pipelines. The Sangachal Terminal, considered one of the largest and profitable oil and gas terminals around the world, covers an area of more than 550 hectares. Its daily processing capacity is more than 1.2 billion barrels of crude oil and over 40 billion cubic meters of gas. The facility stores 3.2 million barrels of crude oil. The territory boasts an extensive network of pipelines and facilities, enabling the transportation of high-quality Azerbaijani crude oil and gas to world markets.

The terminal also receives oil from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. As a result of the Early Oil Project and the Sangachal Terminal Expansion Program, four 25,500-cubic meter tanks for the storage of crude oil were constructed at the terminal. The tanks can process, store and export more than 6 million tons of crude oil a year. The terminal’s control room is capable of maintaining control over the operation of export pipelines running through Georgia and Turkey and detecting problems. In addition, the Sangachal terminal can receive more than 40 million cubic meters of gas from the Shah-Deniz platform. Located behind the exiting Shah-Daniz installation there is an area to be expanded in the future. As part of the Shah-Deniz-2 project, expansion work will be carried out at the Sangachal Terminal. This will enable the processing of an additional 16 billion cubic meters of gas per annum, three times more than the current volumes, and will further enhance the importance of Azerbaijan`s oil and gas industry.

Consistent work is carried out to expand the presence of national specialists amongst the terminal team. All specialists involved in the Early Oil Project are Azerbaijani nationals.

The Sangachal Terminal is turning Azerbaijan into an important hub at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.