Congo’s President Finds Inspiration in Azerbaijan’s Remarkable Achievements

To perceive energy developments in the region firsthand, the delegation, headed by the President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassu-Nguesso, visited the Sangachal terminal during his official visit to Azerbaijan. The terminal is the “beating heart” of the region’s oil and gas industry and the biggest bp-operated onshore asset worldwide.

It was a great honour for bp to host this high-level visit and I have been privileged to accompany President Sassu-Nguesso, showing the terminal facilities and briefing on bp activities in the region.

Acquaintance with the terminal started at the Caspian Energy Center, beginning at the timeline stand which demonstrates the historical development of oil extractions in Azerbaijan. This stand is a great exemplification of why Azerbaijan is also known as the “Land of Fire”:

– the first oil well in the world was drilled in Baku – Bibiheybat area in 1846;- The Nobel brothers; Zoroaster; ship (“God of Fire”, indication to ancient practices of fire worshipers in the Land of Fire – Azerbaijan, natural fire manifestations still present today), launched into the Caspian Sea in 1878 was the first oil tanker in the world;
– the pipeline built from Baku to Batumi in 1897-1907 was the first longest oil pipeline in the world (833 km).

It was noted that in the second half of the 19th century, the world-famous Rothschilds and Nobel brothers, started their business in Azerbaijan. Alfred Nobel’s shares in oil fields in Baku also contributed to the famous Nobel Prize fund.

Another fact related to the startup of the off-shore oil production: in 1949 Azerbaijan started production of oil from the platform in the Oil Rocks; field in the Caspian, which entered the Guinness World Records as the first offshore oil platform. Together with this, bp’s business update presentation that I presented to President Sassu-Nguesso at the Caspian Energy Centre drew a good overview of how we run such a complex facility and pipeline operations, playing a significant role in global energy security.

The BTC oil and Southern Gas Corridor, a system of mega-pipelines, crossing six transit countries, today is one of the largest and most complex endeavors ever undertaken in the global oil and gas industry; it is the biggest project outside the military sector, which started at the Sangachal terminal. It provides a new source of energy to Europe, ensuring greater diversification, increasing the security of supply, unlocking many isolated markets, and creating new opportunities for growth.

The bus tour to the terminal operations site and BTC head pump station gave President Sassu-Nguesso a wider understanding of Azerbaijan’s role in the region. But the most exciting part of Congolese President Sassu-Nguesso’s visit related to the iconic handprints, that were created during the opening ceremony of the Caspian Energy Center, standing for global cooperation and new beginnings.

On May 25, 2005, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the President of Turkey Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Minister of Energy of the United States Samuel Bodman, Prince Andrew, the British royal family member, CEO of bp Lord John Brown, senior officials of Great Britain, France, Ukraine, Japan, Norway and other countries participated at the inauguration ceremony of launching the Azerbaijani part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main oil export pipeline.

But before this event, President Ilham Aliyev, together with Prince Andrew, the British royal family member, cut the red ribbon and announced the official opening of the Caspian Energy Center. High-ranking guests who participated in this event left their handprints on plaster bricks as the opening ceremony gesture, which later became the symbol of the Caspian Energy Center.

It was brought to the attention of the President Sassu-Nguesso that among these handprints, President Ilham Aliyev’s handprint stands out for its grandeur size, and this mighty handprint has become a symbol of Azerbaijan’s success story. There is a famous expression in Azerbaijani that is said to a person that achieved something great – put your right hand on my head – which is believed to lead to the translation of similar success to the receiver of this hand gesture. I noted that the guests who come to the terminal and see the great successes of Azerbaijan, happily put their right hand on the brick with the handprint of President Aliyev and then on their heads.

Hearing this, the Congolese President and other officials applauded Azerbaijan’s successes, and President Sassu-Nguesso, in his turn, placed his right hand on the brick with Ilham Aliyev’s handprint and pulled it on his head. All the guests again warmly applauded President Sassu-Nguesso for such a sincere action. Among the numerous government visits to the terminal that I have been honoured to host, the most memorable one was President Sassu-Nguesso visit to Sangachal, who was very keen to hear and see Azerbaijan’s tremendous successes firsthand.

 

 

About the Author: Guivami Rahimli, PhD, bp’s senior government affairs adviser.