Participation of the Azerbaijani Representative at the 10th International Gas Conference (Hamburg, 1967)

Abstract

This working paper examines the participation of Head of the Main Gas Administration of the Ministry of Communal Economy of the Azerbaijan SSR, in the 10th International Gas Conference (Hamburg, 1967). Drawing on official IGU materials, archival documents and personal photographs, the study shows that senior republican officials within the Soviet delegation performed primarily administrative-expert and state-representational functions. Abdullaev’s inclusion in the core delegation reflected Azerbaijan’s strategic role as a transit and receiving hub for Iranian gas under the IGAT-1 project, which formed part of the broader Soviet gas-swap strategy aimed at freeing Siberian supplies for Western Europe. The paper situates the Hamburg Congress within the emerging Soviet–European energy relationship of the late 1960s and traces Abdullaev’s subsequent international trajectory (Moscow 1970, Tehran 1976). This is a revised and expanded version of the working paper. The three language versions (English, Azerbaijani, Russian), previously published as separate PDFs, have been consolidated into a single document. The text has been supplemented and corrected compared to the earlier version. This publication is continued in the materials "International Experience and the Development of the Gas Industry in the Azerbaijan SSR: Materials of the 10th International Gas Congress in Hamburg (1967) in the Glavgaz of the AzSSR Documents" and "Participation of the Azerbaijani Representative at the 11th International Gas Congress (Moscow, 1970)" This publication documents the monograph "Gasification and Operation of Gas Economy in Azerbaijan (1955–1970). A Historical and Sociological Study", 2023.