The 29th International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition, the 12th International Exhibition ‘Caspian Power and Green Energy’ and the 29th Baku Energy Forum, all held under the umbrella of the Baku Energy Week, wrapped at the Baku Expo Centre on 6 June. Parallel to them had run the Caspian International Exhibition ‘Transport, Transit and Logistics’ – Translogistica Caspian.
It must be said that the Contract of the Century which set in motion a new epoch in the oil history of the Republic was inked 30 years ago. The level of this international-scale event had rallied thousands of visitors and guests from all other the world; it has become a significant talked-of event for many overseas participants and investors. The key players of the global energy market were gathered in Baku to exchange innovative ideas and experience and cutting-edge achievements – and to conclude new contracts.
The gravitas of the exhibitions was further emphasised by the fact that the President of Azerbaijan visited the Expo Centre and delivered a speech at the launch of the Baku Energy Week. In his address, the Head of State underscored the effect of the progressing domestic energy industry and outlined the world energy sector’s prospects. Remarkably, President Ilham Aliyev and the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technologies Sultan ben Ahmad al-Jaber laid the foundation of the Neftchala and Bilasuvar solar power plants and of the Absheron-Garadagh Wind Power Plant on the margins of the event.
The undisputable relevance of the Exhibition and the Forum is predetermined by the mounting importance of diversification. It should be remembered that the European Commission referred to Azerbaijan as a pan-European gas supplier at the meeting of the South Gas Corridor Consultative Board. The gas exports are expected to exceed 24 bn m3 this year, incidentally.
The expositions manifested vividly Azerbaijan’s organisational and intellectual preparations for hosting in November of the tremendously important COP29 which is set to implement key global clean energy transition initiatives. SOCAR and Turkiye’s BOTAŞ signed a number of natural gas delivery, transportation and transit agreements on the sidelines of the Baku Energy Week.
Various countries’ ministers, business people and academics who were busy formulating the most important tasks of the modern energy industry have also characterised development of oil and gas fields, transportation, extraction and processing of oil and gas, innovation technologies and universal efforts to promote and use renewable energy sources. The solar, geo-thermal, nuclear and heat energy, mechanical engineering and energy engineering specialists put in fruitful collegial endeavours at the B2B meetings.
The exhibitions cast of this year was updated thanks to the newcomer companies which made 15% of the total number of participants. Most of them are the overseas players who are intensely interested in the green energy of Azerbaijan.
The Baku Energy Week events, projects and conferences will provide for the emergence of new partnership relations in the energy sector, exchanges of experience and the defining of new development vectors. All that reaffirms Azerbaijan’s status as a successful host of large-scale international events shaping the Eurasian development prospects.
The Baku Energy Week is organised by Iteca Caspian and Caspian Event Organisers together with their international partners ICA Events and CEM FZ LLC.