Shah Deniz II and the Southern Gas Corridor

The CSIS Energy and National Security Program is pleased to host Vitaliy Baylarbayov, Deputy Vice-President for Investment and Marketing of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), to discuss the development of the Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian Sea. Stage 2 of the development, agreed upon by the project consortium in December 2013, forms the foundation for plans to develop and expand pipeline capacity through Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and Italy, establishing what many are calling a new Southern Gas Corridor in Europe. Dr. Baylarbayov, who played an integral role in concluding the final investment decision on the next stage of development and the pipeline discussions, will discuss the future of Azerbaijani gas and the significance of the Southern Gas Corridor. Elizabeth Urbanas, Director of the Office of Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, and Robin West, Senior Adviser with the CSIS Energy and National Security Program, will provide comments. Edward Chow, Senior Fellow with the CSIS Energy and National Security Program, will moderate.

Vitaliy Baylarbayov is Deputy Vice-President of SOCAR for Investments and Marketing. Dr. Baylarbayov has over 30 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry and holds a PhD in economics. He held executive positions in the negotiations related to and the management of a number of major oil and gas projects, including the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oilfields, the Shah-Deniz gas/condensate field, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.