Azernews.Az

BAKU – The lack of enough infrastructure in the Caspian region requires building additional major oil pipelines by 2025 with throughout capacity increased by at least 80 million tons per year, Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister has said.

Gulmammad Javadov told an oil and gas conference in Baku on Monday that annual oil production in the resource-rich region is expected to increase by 100 and 150 million tons of oil respectively by 2015 and 2025. From 2013, he said, the region will face a shortage of available capacities to deliver crude to energy-thirsty world markets. In order to transport these volumes, it is necessary to lay new pipelines, expand the capacities of the seaports in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, improve railway communication between Azerbaijan and Georgia, and increase the storage capacity at regional oil terminals, the official said.

Javadov added that Azerbaijan is interested in creating the East-West energy transport corridor, a part of the historical Silk Road that once connected Asia with Europe, and diversifying supply routes, in order to ensure a stable and reliable supply of hydrocarbons to world markets.