Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan breaks free from gas blockade with new pipeline Following President Aliyev’s visit to Türkiye

An important milestone in the strengthening Azerbaijan-Türkiye strategic cooperation in the energy sector was the completion of the construction of the Iğdır-Nakhchivan gas pipeline. A ceremony marking the commissioning of the pipeline took place recently, with the participation of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Türkiye, Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The new gas pipeline plays a crucial role in ensuring the energy independence and security of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR). Azerbaijani gas will be supplied to NAR through Türkiye under a swap scheme, and the Iğdır-Nakhchivan pipeline will ensure a reliable energy diversification for the autonomy for at least the next thirty years.

"Today is an important day in the history of Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship and brotherhood today – we are celebrating the opening of the Iğdır-Nakhchivan gas pipeline. As mentioned here, together with the esteemed President, we laid the foundation stone of this gas pipeline in Nakhchivan a year and a half ago and are now participating in this wonderful ceremony," stated the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in his speech on March 5 in Ankara, where the opening ceremony of the Iğdır-Nakhchivan pipeline was held via video conference. "Today's ceremony is yet another testament to the unity, friendship, and brotherhood between Türkiye and Azerbaijan. It is a visible manifestation of this bond. I am sure that about 500,000 of our compatriots living in Nakhchivan will celebrate this occasion as a holiday today in the blessed month of Ramadan. On my own behalf, I would like to express my gratitude to our friends who contributed to this achievement. The construction was completed in a short time, in just over a year, and we are already participating in this wonderful ceremony."

The head of state emphasized that gas from Azerbaijan, transported through Türkiye, will reach NAR via swap deliveries, and such diversification of energy supplies will enhance Nakhchivan's security, completely freeing the exclave from risks and problems in this sector.

It is worth reminding that the Iğdır-Nakhchivan gas pipeline project is one of the most priority initiatives included in the "State Program for the Socio-Economic Development of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic for 2023-2027," adopted in June 2023.

Highlighting the importance of the Iğdır-Nakhchivan pipeline, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the project as a symbol of the inseparable ties between Türkiye and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic: with the commissioning of the new pipeline, the energy security of NAR will be ensured for at least 30 years. At the same time, Ankara plans to take further steps to support Nakhchivan. "We only want peace in our region, we want cooperation, and we want all of us to develop together. For this purpose, we have taken a number of steps and demonstrated how sincere we are…Just as we saw Azerbaijan by our side in our most difficult days, especially in the aftermath of the February 6 earthquakes, we will be by our brothers' side whenever they need us," emphasized the Turkish leader.

Returning to the history of the issue, it should be reminded that after the collapse of the USSR, Armenia pursued an aggressive policy towards Azerbaijan, occupying parts of the country and also making territorial claims against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR). The result of these tragic events was the long-lasting blockade of Nakhchivan: all electrical and gas lines from mainland Azerbaijan to the region were cut off, and the energy supply to the autonomy was completely interrupted. In essence, the population of NAR lived without gas supply for about 15 years, and only in 2005, through an agreement signed with the Islamic Republic of Iran, was Iranian gas provided to the autonomy through a swap arrangement.

"When the First Karabakh War broke out, Armenia occupied Karabakh and, at the same time, kept Nakhchivan under blockade. Their plan was to occupy Nakhchivan as well…One of the reasons why Nakhchivan was not occupied at the time was that the ‘Umid’ bridge, connecting Nakhchivan with Türkiye, was built, and the aid from Türkiye made a very significant contribution to the protection of Nakhchivan," President Ilham Aliyev reminded.

During that difficult period, fuel, electricity, and overall assistance were supplied to the blockaded Nakhchivan from Türkiye, and the transport corridors to the brotherly country played a crucial role for the citizens of our country living in the exclave during the most challenging times. Subsequently, a decision was made to resolve Nakhchivan’s gas issues in a fundamental way: on December 15, 2020, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Türkiye regarding the supply of natural gas to NAR. Under this agreement, the state oil companies of both countries — SOCAR and BOTAS — participated in the construction of a 87.5-kilometer gas pipeline branch from the Turkish city of Iğdır to the Sadarak district of NAR, designed to pump two million cubic meters of gas per day, or approximately 730 million cubic meters per year. In the future, the pipeline’s capacity can be doubled, but even in its initial configuration, the pipeline’s designed capacity is sufficient to fully meet the energy needs of NAR’s population, as well as the autonomy's utility and industrial sectors in "blue" fuel.

"With the participation of the heads of state, another historically significant project symbolizing the eternal friendship, brotherhood, and unbreakable unity between Azerbaijan and Türkiye - the Iğdır-Nakhchivan gas pipeline was launched today. The Iğdır-Nakhchivan gas pipeline represents a new gateway in the strategic energy partnership between Azerbaijan and Türkiye, passing through Nakhchivan," stated Azerbaijan's Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov on his social media account on X.

According to the minister, who participated in the launch ceremony, the Iğdır-Nakhchivan gas pipeline will diversify energy supplies to NAR and contribute to the well-being of the population. In the future, it will play an important role in the development of the region, and there is also the potential to expand the pipeline's capacity in the future.

Speaking in Ankara the day before, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that today, the two brotherly countries — Türkiye and Azerbaijan — are implementing giant initiatives, including oil and gas pipeline projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, and TANAP, which have not only connected the two brotherly countries but also transformed the energy map of Eurasia. "Today, gas flowing from Azerbaijan through Turkish territory contributes to the energy security of many countries. Last year, Azerbaijan's gas exports reached 25 billion cubic meters, about half of which were exported to Türkiye. In addition to Türkiye, 11 countries, including 10 in Europe, are strengthening their energy security by purchasing Azerbaijani gas," the head of state emphasized.

The multifaceted Azerbaijan-Türkiye energy cooperation also covers the field of electricity, including the construction of powerful substations and the laying of high-voltage power lines in the Karabakh region and Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR). This work is part of the development of a robust electricity generation and transit infrastructure aimed at establishing the export of electricity produced from renewable energy sources (RES) to Türkiye and further to the EU countries. 

According to the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, the total potential of NAR in renewable energy sources is estimated at 5 GW. The strategic goal is to attract foreign investment for the creation of wind and solar energy production capacities in the autonomy, with a target of 1,500 MW, and to export at least 1,000 MW of the generated electricity. For these purposes, substations and power lines are being modernized and built from scratch in NAR, hydropower plants and solar stations are being constructed within the framework of the "green energy zones" program, a powerful SCADA center is planned, and the distribution network in the cities and villages of the autonomy is being reconstructed.

"Türkiye, together with Azerbaijan, plays an important role in global oil supplies and in the delivery of natural gas to Europe. We hope that our next project will be the power line from Nakhchivan to Türkiye," stated Türkiye's Minister of Energy, Alparslan Bayraktar, on March 5.