Somalia’s national news agency SONNA in its release of “Somali President Explores Azerbaijan’s Oil Facilities, Military Commandos, and Modern Services in Landmark Visit” highlights President Mohamud’s tour to Azerbaijan’s strategic facilities, learning from its expertise across sectors.
To perceive energy developments in the region firsthand, President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his delegation, visited the Sangachal terminal during his state visit to Azerbaijan. The terminal known as the “beating heart” of Azerbaijan’s oil and gas industry, gives the visitors a real flavour of what the Sangachal facility entails as bp’s global major operating center.
It was a great honour for bp to host this visit and I have been privileged to accompany President Mohamud during his familiarization trip, showcasing the terminal facilities and briefing him on bp’s wider activities in the region.
Familiarity with this strategic facility began at the terminal’s Caspian Energy Center (CEC), which was inaugurated on May 25, 2005, during the opening ceremony of Azerbaijan’s section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.
The formal opening took place in the presence of Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, together with 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. This high-level event was a historic milestone, marking the launch of one of the world's most significant oil export pipelines, which originated in Baku.
The event started with a ceremony at the Caspian Energy Center, Baku, where President Ilham Aliyev, together with Prince Andrew, the British royal family member, cut the red ribbon and announced the official opening of the CEC. High-ranking guests who participated in this event left their handprints on plaster bricks as the opening ceremony gesture, standing for global cooperation and new beginnings. These handprints became the symbol of the CEC.
President Mohamud noted that among the handprints, President Ilham Aliyev’s stood out for its remarkable size. This was seen as a symbolic representation of Azerbaijan’s pivotal role in the success of the BTC vision - one that required deep understanding of the intricate intersections of business, politics, and technology. The pipeline has become a critical new source of supply, meeting the energy demands of vast oil-hungry regions in the West.
Hearing this, President Mohamud expressed his appreciation, uttering loudly “Mashallah”. He was very keen to hear about Azerbaijan’s lasting achievements.
Moving to the timeline stand, a visual demonstration of historical developments of oil extractions in Azerbaijan, President Mohamud was informed about the “oil firsts” in the world:
- the first oil well in the world was drilled in Baku – Bibiheybat area in 1846;
- The Nobel brothers' "Zoroaster" (“God of Fire”) ship, launched into the Caspian Sea in 1878 was the first oil tanker in the world; Its name is indication to ancient practices of fire worshipers in the “Land of Fire” – Azerbaijan. Natural fire manifestations still present in Azerbaijan and today you can see it in the suburb of Baku called “Yanar dag” (“Burning mountain”), a place of tourist attraction,
- 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 the world-famous Rothschilds and Nobel brothers, started their business in Azerbaijan at the second half of the 19th century. 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 offshore 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 book as the first offshore oil platform.
One of the interesting moments during the President Mohamud’s tour of the Caspian Energy Center was when I showed the samples of crude oil which typically labeled by the region they come from and explained the differences between them.
There are primary qualities that differentiate one oil from another: weight, sweetness - light oil vs. heavy oil, “sweet” and “sour” oil. “Azeri Light” is the ideal oil: light & sweet. It requires less processing and produces a greater percentage of gasoline and diesel than heavy oil, which evaporates slowly and contains material that is used to make heavy products. While logistics also play a role, typically the lighter and sweeter an oil is, the more expensive it’s going to be.
It was 1st time in my experience when I saw such a detailed interest in crude oil benchmarks.
There was only one other occasion when I witnessed such keen interest in benchmark oils during the Caspian Energy Center (CEC) tour of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, whom President Ilham Aliyev hosted during his visit to Azerbaijan. Drawing on his extensive experience in the oil industry, President Aliyev explained the concept of a global benchmark price using the well-known crude oil “Brent” as an example. “Brent,” a light and sweet crude oil, originates from the North Sea and serves as a pricing standard for a significant portion of the world's internationally traded crude oil.
With the aim of figuring out the responsibilities of the supplier and the transit country in their commitments to providing the consumers with oil and gas, President Mohamud wanted to learn more about the oil and gas export systems and how we deliver hydrocarbons from the Caspian sea to the European markets. The Somalian President received an explanation on the entire process, starting from production to operations, including how we deliver oil and gas to our customers, metering and volume controls, integrity of the pipeline system, pipeline exports and volumes, security, among other details.
bp’s business update presentation that I presented to President Mohamud, along with CEC tour, drew a good overview of how we run such a complex facility and pipeline operations, and Azerbaijan’s role in global energy security.
During our discussions and the business update presentation, President Mohamud reflected on the insights shared, viewing them as valuable lessons for Somalia’s future.
It was remarkable to witness his deep interest in the intricate details of the oil and gas industry, despite his non-technical background.
A dedicated leader, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been instrumental in advancing national reconciliation, socio-economic development, and security sector reforms in Somalia, laying the groundwork for the country's next phase of progress. His leadership has played a key role in Somalia’s reconstruction and stabilization. He also holds a PhD in Peace, Governance, and Development.
It is no coincidence that in April 2013, Time magazine recognised Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, acknowledging his far-reaching contributions to Somalia’s development.
The bus tour to the terminal operations site and BTC head pump station gave President Mohamud a wider understanding of Azerbaijan’s role in the region. The BTC oil and Southern Gas Corridor, a system of mega-pipelines - SCPX, TANAP and TAP, crossing six transit countries, coming ashore in Southern Italy, today is one of the largest and most complex endeavors ever undertaken in the global oil and gas industry. This project is the biggest project outside the military sector, with its roots embedded 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 serving as a good platform for “win-win” cooperation for years and decades to come.
Somali President’s visit, as SONNA highlighted “holds particular significance for Somalia, as the two nations recently signed a cooperation agreement on oil and energy. President Mohamud highlighted the importance of the tour, stating that it provided a valuable opportunity for knowledge exchange. Somalia is currently conducting oil exploration surveys, which are expected to be completed this year, marking a pivotal moment in the country’s energy sector development.”
Guivami Rahimli, PhD
Professor at Baku State University, lecturing energy security, multilateral and regional diplomacy at the faculty of international relations and economics Senior Government Affairs Advisor, bp AGT Region
