Exclusive: Sometimes enough one word.

 The Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan) is an energy-rich country that became a major regional energy player after restoring its independence in 1991. The country’s territory covers an area of 86,600 sq. km and borders Russia, Georgia, Iran, Turkey and Armenia. Azerbaijan has a population of about 10 million, 53% of whom reside in urban areas. Due to its geographical position, the territory of Azerbaijan includes eight out of 11 existing world climate zones.
Azerbaijan is an upper-middle income country, with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP, current international USD) of 17,460, representing 43% of the EU28 average in 2017. Oil exports have constituted the main revenue source for the economic development of the country, rendering it vulnerable to external shocks and changes in global oil prices. The Government of Azerbaijan (GoA) has devoted significant efforts to develop its non-oil sector, leading to an increase in the non-oil share of its economy in GDP from 38% in 2008 to 57% in 2017.
As of 2017, one third of all GDP-generating activities are related to oil and natural gas extraction, yet this sector employs less than 1% of the employed population. At the same time, 37% of the working population are involved in agricultural sector, contributing 6% to the GDP. Transportation, distribution and storage of electricity, natural gas and heat energy contribute 1% to the GDP and employ 5% of the employed population. The unemployment rate was about 5% in 2017.
During 2008–2017, almost 90% of all energy investments were related to the extraction of hydrocarbons and 9% to the development of the electricity sector, including renewables. Investments in natural gas and heat distribution and supply sectors were insignificant compared with other energy subsectors. Azerbaijan is a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leader, ranked 25 among 190 economies in the 2019 Ease of Doing Business rating.
The energy intensity of Azerbaijan decreased by 14% or from 0.105 to 0.090 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) per thousand 2011 USD PPP during 2007–2016. It followed almost the same dynamics as the energy intensity of the European Union (EU). The country’s energy intensity indicator is the lowest in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region

Azerbaijan is a large oil and gas producer and a net energy exporter. Indeed, the country exported an average 77% of all produced energy during 2008–2017. Crude oil has constituted the largest exported commodity, in 2017 representing 78% of total exports, with natural gas representing 19% and other types of energy carriers 3%. Azerbaijan also uses produced hydrocarbons to cover an internal energy demand that increased by 12% during 2008–2017. The residential and transport sectors have been the dominant energy consumers in the last decade. In 2017, the share of renewable energy accounted for 1.66% of the total primary energy supply and was mainly represented by hydropower plants.

Jamil Hajizada