Azerbaijan currently supplies 10 bcm (billion cubic meters) of natural gas to the Southern Europe. AMNA via AP
Azerbaijan currently supplies 10 bcm (billion cubic meters) of natural gas to the Southern Europe. AMNA via AP
Azerbaijan currently supplies 10 bcm (billion cubic meters) of natural gas to the Southern Europe. AMNA via AP
Azerbaijan currently supplies 10 bcm (billion cubic meters) of natural gas to the Southern Europe. AMNA via AP

Business

Energy

Azerbaijan plans to supply more natural gas to Europe amid Russia-Ukraine conflict

The central Asian country is seeking to upgrade its existing energy infrastructure to export more gas to Europe, its energy minister says

Fareed Rahman
Fareed Rahman

May 09, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Azerbaijan plans to supply more natural gas to Europe as countries in the continent aim to phase out Russian imports by the end of the year and look for alternative sources of supplies amid Moscow’s continuing conflict with Ukraine.

The central Asian republic is focusing on upgrading its existing energy infrastructure to export more gas to Europe, Azerbaijan energy minister Parviz Shahbazov told the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

“We are now working very intensively with the European Commission ... we are working on the ways, in a relatively short period of time, upgrade this infrastructure and subsequently increase our energy supply to Europe in terms of natural gas.”

Azerbaijan currently supplies 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to the Southern Europe and 6bcm to Turkey through the Southern Gas Corridor — a network of pipelines crossing through Turkey and other countries in Europe.

He, however, did not give a timeline on when the country plans to boost exports to Europe but said that Azerbaijan's crude exports are "used by many European countries”.

“We are now going to produce more green energy in Azerbaijan and going to be later a net exporter,” Mr Shahbazov said while participating in a ministerial session at the three-day event.

The EU aims to diversify its energy resources and reduce its reliance on Russia, which provides a bulk of its oil and gas exports. In 2021, the group members imported 155 bcm of natural gas from Russia, which accounted for about 45 per cent of EU gas imports and close to 40 per cent of its total gas consumption, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The bloc plans to ban Russian oil over the next six months and is seeking alternative sources of supply from different countries to replace Russian oil.

Last month, Italy signed an agreement with Algeria for 9bcm of natural gas to reduce its reliance on Moscow for energy imports.

Europe can diversify its energy sources away from Russia faster than expected with new supply deals and other measures, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in April.

“Diversification is possible and feasible in a relatively short time — shorter than we imagined just a month ago,” Mr Draghi, who previously served as the president of the European Central Bank, said.

The EU should seek alternative sources of supply from the US, Azerbaijan, Qatar and Algeria to replace the Russian gas, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said earlier this year.

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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

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Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.

Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.

The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.

One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.

That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.

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Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
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Teams managed:
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2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Volunteers offer workers a lifeline

Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.

When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.

Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.

Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.

“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.

Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.

“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.

Updated: May 09, 2022, 12:19 PM
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