Azerbaijan commissions substation to supply electricity to BP's Sangachal terminal
BAKU. Aug 4 (Interfax) - JSC AzerEnerji has commissioned the 220/110/10 kV Yeni Sangachal substation, which will be key to integrating BP plc's Sangachal terminal into Azerbaijan's national grid, in a ceremony attended by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.
"The Yeni Sangachal substation is connected to the national grid by four new 220 kV transmission lines with a combined length of 111 km. Power is supplied from three independent sources: the 785 MW Janub Power Plant, the 385 MW Gobu Power Plant, and the 500 kV Absheron substation," Aliyev's press service said.
The Yeni Sangachal substation is equipped with digital control systems integrated into the SCADA network and includes a dedicated control center to support grid operation. Five 110 kV overhead-cable transmission lines with a total length of 25 km have also been laid between the substation and the Sangachal terminal. Two additional lines are planned in the next phase.
The substation will supply electricity to BP's Sangachal terminal (80 MW) and the Shah Deniz Compressor Station (85 MW), allowing both facilities, whose combined annual electricity consumption exceeds 1 billion kWh, to receive power through Azerbaijan's unified electricity grid.
The project will integrate the 240 MW Shafag solar power plant under construction in Azerbaijan's Jabrayil district into Azerbaijan's national power grid and supply electricity to the Sangachal terminal under a cooperation agreement between AzerEnerji and BP.
The Shafag plant will enable the decommissioning of the terminal's gas-fired power plant. It is expected that the solar power plant will generate 500 kWh of electricity per year, saving 120 million-150 million cubic meters of gas and cutting carbon emissions by 260,000-330,000 tonnes per year.
BP, SOCAR and other investors on June 3, 2025 greenlit the Sangachal terminal electrification (STEL) project, which will enable the terminal to connect with the national grid operated by AzerEnerji, via new facilities to be built both within and outside the terminal, including a new 220/110 kV electricity substation.
Together, the Shafag and STEL projects are expected to support the reduction of operational emissions by around 50% over the future life of the Sangachal terminal.
The $230 million STEL project will be developed and managed by BP. All work should be complete by the end of 2028.
The Sangachal terminal, located 55 kilometers to the south of Baku, is one of the most important facilities of the oil and gas industry in Azerbaijan. The terminal has an area of around 550 hectares, making it one of the largest oil and gas terminals in the world. The terminal was designed to receive, process, store, and export oil and gas from all existing offshore fields operated by BP in the Caspian basin, and it has the potential to be expanded.
The terminal currently has the capacity to handle 1.2 million barrels of crude oil and condensate and about 81 million cubic meters of Shah Deniz gas per day, while overall processing and export capacity for gas, including ACG associated gas, is around 100 million cubic meters per day.
