Rovshan Najaf: Artificial Intelligence Will Become One of the Drivers of Energy Consumption Growth

Demand for reliable energy supply sources in the global energy market will continue to grow in the coming years against the backdrop of artificial intelligence technology development and the increasing number of data centers.

As Report informs, this was stated by the President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Rovshan Najaf during a panel discussion at the Baku Energy Week.

According to him, one of the main reasons for this trend is disruptions in energy supply and the desire of states to focus on more reliable energy sources.

Another important factor, Najaf believes, is the growth in energy consumption due to the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies and data centers.

"The impact of artificial intelligence and data centers on energy consumption is constantly increasing. It is still difficult to accurately forecast the scale to which demand will grow, but this trend is already evident," he noted.

The head of SOCAR emphasized that to meet growing demand, the company is investing in upstream projects abroad while simultaneously diversifying supply sources.

"The company's main goal is to remain a reliable partner for its clients and to meet energy demand, which will grow in the future. To this end, SOCAR is expanding its production portfolio and increasing its participation in new international projects. The company acquired a 10-percent stake in the Baleine project in Côte d'Ivoire. In addition, SOCAR has been participating in projects in the United Arab Emirates for a long time and continues to expand its international presence," he said.

Rovshan Najaf added that SOCAR's strategy is not limited to existing production volumes.

"To meet growing demand, we are expanding our production portfolio through new sources and projects," the company's president emphasized.