Azernews.Az

BAKU – Baku hosts international conference on presenting to the countries of Europe and Central Asia Azerbaijan's experience as part of the Global Partnership to reduce burning of associated gas, in which the leading role is played by state oil company SOCAR and the World Bank.

The conference participants were read a message from the President of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev, which notes that in recent years, the solution of the environmental issues has become a priority for Azerbaijan. In particular, last year was declared the Year of the Environment in Azerbaijan. A large number of events have been successfully implemented as part of this process.

According to Abdullaev, emissions of associated gas have significantly reduced. This rate in 2010 declined from 578.6 million cubic meters to 298.3 million cubic meters.

According to the WB manager for Azerbaijan, Joseph Owen, now all the countries worldwide need to find a balance between renewable and alternative energy sources.

"The days of easy oil are over. It is necessary to move towards a sustainable energy balance, find a balance between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources," said Owen.

According to him, SOCAR is currently successfully implementing the program for utilization of associated gas. WB representative also said the states should play an active role to ensure the success of similar processes in the world.