“Azerbaijan Oil Industry” journal is a multi-profile scientific-technical edition aimed at the presentation of all aspects of activity of large oil-gas sector of the industry. In correspondence with traditions, we will continue this general direction of its activity, considering modern reality of globalization and scientific-technical progress defining the impacts on its development, and information technologies as well. Alongside with this, this moment dictates specification of priorities in the presentation of complicated and multiform life of the oil sector.
Due to the works on the development of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshly and Shahdeniz fields carried out by SOCAR in cooperation with the consortium of foreign companies headed by BP, the increase of hydrocarbon reserves almost for two times was achieved. Nevertheless, the issue of fast growth of oil and gas reserves is still the top priority. It is associated both with the necessity of filling the export pipelines and solution of issues on supplying Azerbaijan with gas in conditions of unpredictable policy of gas prices. Recently developed powerful modern infrastructure of petroleum industry requires full charge as well. At last, it is necessary to inspire an interest of western companies to the capital investment in new projects. The goal may be achieved with the concentration of material and technical resources towards opening new offshore deposits, even though it is associated with enough geological and technological risks. The efforts may be focused on the perspective onshore deposits considering the fact that the modern geophysical surveys have been not conducted in appropriate volume in the major oil- bearing areas. Additional exploration of old reservoirs and implementation of state-of-the-art technological methods for efficiency increase of oil production and so on are the major reserves. Several materials of current issue are dedicated to this topic. We will continue the discussion on it in the further issues.
The problem of significant increase of scale and efficiency in geophysical exploration methods, particularly on shore is directly associated with the task of providing fast increase of reserves. Important structural changes in this sector by SOCAR allow hoping for significant progress in this field. It is necessary to mark that Azerbaijan is rightfully considered one of the pioneers in the development and implementation of geophysical methods for searching particularly offshore oil deposits. High quality geophysical surveys in the Caspian Sea provided success in the realization of the Contract of the Century as well as the other large-scale projects. We plan organizing “round tables” and wide discussions on the journal pages dedicated to this issue.
Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum export pipelines may be legitimately considered one of the ambitious and successful projects of current decade. The beginning of its effective execution at the same time enabled to eliminate sharpness of political, economic and ecological problems in its functioning. We will welcome the publication of the papers presenting all aspects of these large projects on the pages of the journal. We will be especially pleased with the opinions of the specialists of the Caspian Sea states, especially from Russia, which worked its way from the complete negation of the project’s practicability to the weighted analysis of present-day realities and further support for the policy of diversification of hydrocarbon transportation.
Modern petrochemistry is a complex of technologies of deep treatment of hydrocarbon crude. Baku fuel always differed with its high quality. Even in the period of Soviet Union Azerbaijan was producing unblended AI-93 fuel exported to the all Republics. There was no problem in Azerbaijan associated with high composition of sulphur (in Azerbaijanian oil 0,2 against 2 % in URALS mixture).
The main issue of treatment nowadays is the benzene reduction in the fuel. According to the standards (Euro-4 and -5), benzene content should not exceed 1 %. In Azerbaijan and Russia 5 % of content is permitted (Euro-2 standards). It is necessary gradually to switch to Euro-4 standards.
Ecological problems are the top priority for petroleum industry. In the modern world oil-gas complex is one of the major “contaminators” of environment. To be convinced of this, it is enough to see Absheron peninsula. How these issues are solved today and how will be solved in the future? This and many other problems of oil-gas complex will be presented in the future issues of “Azerbaijan Oil Industry” journal.
We are planning organizational measures on the changes of format and volume of the journal. It is predicted to increase significantly the information in electronic network, particularly, the development of electronic archive of the papers published during the whole history of “Azerbaijan Oil Industry” journal since 1920.
In the future we are planning to publish brief issue of English version and special news bulletins as well.
