Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

A conference titled "Cooperative Approach to Energy Security: View from NATO and Beyond" was held in Baku on November 21.

The conference was co-organized by the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) under the president of Azerbaijan and NATO.

Bakhtiyar Aslanbeyli, moderator of the conference's first session and expert on security and energy issues, presented a complete overview of the evolution of NATO's approach to energy security over the past 10 years at the event.

"After initial discussions at the Riga summit in 2006 and the Bucharest summit in 2008 it was decided to define the principles of NATO's role in energy security," he said. "The new strategic concept adopted by NATO in 2010, had highlighted the impact of demand on NATO member countries' energy security, as well as the importance of the existing energy infrastructure."

According to the expert, NATO can play a more active and determined role in ensuring energy security in the region and the world and providing the security of the Southern Corridor.

"A successful and enduring partnership with the countries of the region now requires a transition of this cooperation to a qualitatively new level. Cooperation on the protection of energy infrastructure can make a meaningful contribution to the transition of these relations to a new level," Aslanbeyli said.

Speaking at the conference, Head of the NATO liaison office in the South Caucasus William Lahue said that Azerbaijan has appropriate resources to continue cooperation with NATO.

Head of the NATO energy security department Michael Ruehle, in turn, said Azerbaijan is one of the most important allies of the NATO in energy security. He also said that Azerbaijan can play an important role in joint trainings with the NATO in the field of energy security.

Speaking at the conference, Head of the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry's department of energy infrastructure security Javad Tinayev said that a part of the oil and gas pipelines in the west passes through the territories that are located near the contact line between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, and this is regarded as a threat to these pipelines.

Tinayev said that Armenian residents in Georgia, through which territory some parts of the pipelines pass, and the involvement of various companies in the operation of these pipelines is also a source of danger. The second important question, according to Tinayev, is the risk of penetration of the representatives of terrorist and extremist organizations in strategic infrastructure facilities.

"Uncertainty about the legal status of the Caspian Sea has a corresponding impact on the energy infrastructure security in the sea," he said. "As an additional threat to their security, the possible activities of various criminal gangs involved in smuggling fuel, oil, and weapons are taken into account. We are ready to cooperate with all the agencies responsible for the security of energy infrastructure."

Speaking at the event, Romanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Daniel Cristian Ciobanu said Romania supports opening the Southern Gas Corridor as a priority of the EU.

According to Ciobanu, an important project promoted by Romania in the region is AGRI (Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector), which takes advantage of the shortest way between the Caspian and Black Sea.

"This type of energy project is beneficial both for Azerbaijan as an important producer and exporter of oil and gas, and for Romania by providing an alternative energy route to transport Caspian gas to the European market," Ciobanu said.

The ambassador also said that studying NATO's experience in energy security is important for the South Caucasus countries.

According to the diplomat, as a member of the NATO and the EU, Romania is interested in expanding relations between the countries of the Caspian region and Europe.

"The implementation of the South Caucasus corridor project, which makes an important contribution to the energy security of the whole of Europe, is important for these relations," he said.

He also highlighted the strong partnership between Bucharest and Baku in the energy sector, particularly the involvement of the state energy company SOCAR in the Romanian market.

The Southern Corridor is one of the EU's priority energy projects aimed at diversifying the routes and sources of energy supply, thereby increasing secure delivery. Gas which will be produced within the second stage of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field development will be the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages the transportation of Caspian gas to European markets.

In late June, the Shah Deniz consortium announced the selection of TAP as the main route for transporting its gas to Europe. Another pipeline which was vying for Azerbaijani gas transportation to Europe was Nabucco West.

AGRI project envisages the transportation of Azerbaijan's gas via pipelines to the Black Sea coast of Georgia, where the gas will be liquefied at a special terminal. Then the gas will be delivered to a terminal at the Romanian port of Constanta via tankers. Later the liquefied gas will be will be turned into natural gas and directed towards covering the needs of Romania and other European countries. The participants in the AGRI project are SOCAR, the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, as well as the MVM Company (Hungary) and Romgaz (Romania).

NATO and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating on democratic, institutional, and military reforms, as well as on the issue of conducting practical cooperation in various areas. The cooperation plan between Azerbaijan and the NATO is set out in the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) on Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan aspires to achieve Euro-Atlantic standards and get closer to Euro-Atlantic institutions. In this regard, supporting the security sector reform and establishing democratic institutions are the key elements of the NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation.