Yixuan Gao_AzerbaijanYixuan Gao_Azerbaijan

Map Creator: Yixuan Gao ’19

Azerbaijan joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in December 2015. It is a country that is rich in petroleum and natural gas. The Shah Deniz and Azeri, Chirag, Gunashli (ACG) are the largest natural gas and oil fields within Azerbaijan’s territory. Four major pipelines, which are Baku-Grozny-Novorossiysk, Baku-Tbilisi-Supsa, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, transport oil and natural gas to Russia, European countries, and to the Middle East countries. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and Baku International Sea Trade Port are important in BRI. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway connects the Trans-European and Trans-Asian railway networks. It is quite attractive for the Central Asian region and it also provides easier access of Chinese goods to European market. China hopes the construction of the Sea Trade Port can help Azerbaijan become an international transport hub, which can contribute to the development of BRI in the future. SALIYAN and PIRSAAT are also two oil fields that have Chinese investment.