BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 5. A 240-megawatt solar power facility (SPP) in Jabrayil will cut bp's regional emissions by 11 percent, bp's Vice President of Communications and External Affairs in the Caspian region Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli told Trend exclusively.
The bp company is at the helm of this groundbreaking project, unlike anything ever seen in Azerbaijan.
"The Jabrayil solar power plant project, which has a capacity of 240 MW, is currently in the planning stages. From a business perspective, this project is backed by the electrification and decarbonization of the Sangachal terminal. The latter sees the introduction of the "Virtual Power Transmission Mechanism" business model in Azerbaijan, which enables solar power generation in Jebrail and transmission to the grid, as well as the acquisition of the same volume in the Garadagh district of Baku to the Sangachal terminal through a swap with Azerenerji. Because it will cut down on gas usage at the Sangachal terminal, this economically sound, well integrated project is well worth pursuing. By putting the plan into action, bp's regional businesses will cut their emissions by 11 percent," Aslanbayli said.
He claims that bp intends to export the gas volumes released by its planned activities, which will make Azerbaijani gas supplies even more reliable for international purchasers.
"We have made significant progress in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Azerenerji on the technical and commercial implementation of this multi-faceted project, and we expect to make a final investment decision on it later this year. The Jabrayil SPP project is really important in support of Azerbaijan's energy transition," Aslanbayli emphasized.
Among the other participants in the project are SOCAR and Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC). The share participation will be clarified in the fall.
Aslanbayli noted that bp intends to expand cooperation with SOCAR in new areas to support Azerbaijan on its energy transition path.
"Looking ahead, we will continue to work closely with SOCAR on new projects in renewable energy, decarbonization, and electrification in Azerbaijan. This will require an innovative approach, and we aim to be at the forefront in this regard," the bp vice president for the Caspian region noted.
He mentioned that bp is taking every opportunity to make its operations even safer and more efficient and is looking for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize existing oil and gas production.
"We have recently implemented technology and solutions to measure methane emissions at all our sites in the region. This will allow us to improve measurements, better evaluate them, increase understanding of our new baselines, and ultimately contribute to realizing bp's goal in operations worldwide of a 50 percent reduction in methane emissions in its global operations," Aslanbayli explained.
Another important example of bp's green actions in Azerbaijan is the project currently underway to replace diesel generators (produce electricity) at the Shah Deniz Alpha production platform with electricity that will come from the neighboring Shah Deniz Bravo platform.
"This will not only help reduce carbon dioxide emissions at Shah Deniz Alpha, but will also improve the productivity of operations at the Shah Deniz gas condensate project," the bp vice president believes.
Furthermore, Aslanbayli recalled that bp and SOCAR have signed the Methane Emission Reduction Guidelines (MGP), as well as a bilateral memorandum of understanding, and by doing so, they are contributing to efforts such as the international Global Methane Reduction Initiative (launched under the MGP in November 2023).
"This initiative aims to accelerate the reduction of methane emissions at the level of individual countries. Working together, SOCAR and bp intend to integrate the actions of key stakeholders in Azerbaijan, partner companies, experts from research institutes, and government representatives, to support efforts to develop a concrete roadmap to reduce methane emissions that meets the requirements of Azerbaijan's energy sector. We are convinced that together we can better capitalize on the opportunities here, helping industry, society, and the government combat methane emissions," Aslanbayli added.
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