BP President in Georgia for the Belt & Road Forum
It is just over two decades now since oil giant BP began its operations in Georgia. In that time, a mutually beneficial relationship has blossomed which has seen the company invest more than $4bn in Georgia’s energy infrastructure, introducing international standards of safe and reliable operations, and helping support local communities in business start-ups, agriculture, education and Paralympic sports. Moreover, BP’s three major energy projects that operate in Georgia have significantly changed the energy map of both Georgia and the Caspian region, with the new Southern Gas Corridor expected to bring profound changes to the energy map of Europe.
Both in operation since 2006, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline (BTC) and South Caucasus gas pipeline (SCP), run by BP on behalf of two international consortia of energy companies and investors, run side by side for 248 kilometers within the territory of Georgia. Gas off-take pressure reduction and metering facilities on the SCP, along with two BTC pump stations can also be found within Georgian territory. There is also the Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP) and Supsa terminal, which BP operate on the behalf of an international consortium of energy companies, transporting oil from the Caspian Sea oil fields via Azerbaijan’s Sangchal terminal to Georgia’s Supsa terminal on the Black Sea.
Ahead of the Tbilisi Belt & Road Forum, BP held a special event at the Georgian National Museum auditorium dedicated to the official presentation of the documentary “Vagif, as I knew him”. recognition of Azerbaijan’s and one of the world’s grandmasters of jazz, Vagif Mustafazade founder of jazz-mugam, a unique musical genre. The screening was opened by Georgian Minister of Culture, Mikheil Giorgadze, and attended by many of the late pianist’s Georgian friends, in addition to Country Manager for BP in Georgia, Chris Schlueter, and BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, Gary Jones.
Gary Jones is BP’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, accountable for all of BP’s upstream activities in the region. Starting his career with BP in 1981, Gary has held many leadership positions in drilling, operations and projects. Key leadership positions have included, heading BP’s operations in Iraq as General Manager Rumaila / Vice President Operations, serving as a key leader in Russia as the Project Director/Performance Unit Leader: Verkhnechonskoye, and holding multiple senior leadership positions across BP’s North Sea asset base. Ahead of the Tbilisi Belt & Road Forum, GEORGIA TODAY sat down with Gary for an exclusive interview on the significance of BP’s presence in Georgia, and what plans are in place to continue their over two decade-long partnership.
The full interview will be printed in Friday’s issue of GEORGIA TODAY. Don’t miss it!
Mate Foldi