Accompanied by the officials of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy, the Somalian delegation was welcomed at the Caspian Energy Centre of the terminal.

Gulvami Rahimli, bp’s Senior Government Affairs Advisor, provided them with information about Azerbaijan's oil history.

They were informed that Centre, which fully reflects the history of Azerbaijan’s oil and gas industry, widely promotes the country’s role in the world’s oil and gas industry. The Caspian Energy Centre was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by President Ilham Aliyev, senior officials from the USA, the UK, Georgia and Kazakhstan in 2005. The opening of the centre coincided with the commissioning of the Azerbaijani section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main oil export pipeline. During the inauguration ceremony, the guests left their handprints, which became a symbol of the Caspian Energy Centre.

The delegation was informed about the landmarks of Azerbaijan’s oil history. They were informed that the oil wells drilled in 1846 at Bibiheybat in the Baku region were the first mechanically-drilled oil wells in the world. Additionally, Azerbaijan commenced oil extraction from the open sea in 1949 at the "Oil Rocks" field in the Caspian Sea, marking the world's first offshore oil platform. This historic achievement was recognized and entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.

While touring the terminal, Somalia’s Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Dahir Shire Mohamed and his accompanying delegation were given detailed information about the technological processes at the terminal. Rahimli noted that the Sangachal Terminal was considered “the beating heart” of Azerbaijan`s oil and gas industry. It is an oil and gas terminal where crude oil and gas produced from Azerbaijani fields in the Caspian Sea are received, processed, stored and exported. Oil from Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli and gas from Shah-Deniz fields flow into the terminal and are exported largely via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and the Southern Caucasus pipelines. The Sangachal Terminal, considered one of the largest and profitable oil and gas terminals around the world, covers an area of more than 688 hectares. Its daily processing capacity is more than 1.2 billion barrels of crude oil and over 81 billion cubic meters of gas. The facility stores about 4 million barrels of crude oil. The territory boasts an extensive network of pipelines and facilities, enabling the transportation of high-quality Azerbaijani crude oil and gas to world markets.

Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Dahir Shire Mohamed hailed bp's activities in the region, as well as the cooperation with the Azerbaijani government and SOCAR. Describing this experience as exemplary, the Somali minister highlighted Azerbaijan’s leadership in the energy sector. He said that their visits to Azerbaijan are of historical importance for Somalia.

Then, on behalf of bp, Givami Rahimli presented the Somali minister with the "Mysterious Tales of Tabriz" book, dedicated to Azerbaijani miniature art.

AzVision.az

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