Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Final thoughts

By Adele Gallogly


Following flights from Baku through Tbilisi and Amsterdam, I arrived in Washington, DC. It has been great to have the chance to review the notes and materials I received throughout the program and to have a chance to prepare a paper related to energy security. I am excited to continue working on my paper, and to incorporate the knowledge and information from the excellent presentations into my final paper. 

I know I would like to return to Azerbaijan and Georgia again. I very much hope to return to the amazing cities of Tbilisi and Baku and feel so fortunate to have been able to participate in the internship and the 2014 Baku summer energy course. I look forward to continuing my studies on energy, the environment and development throughout the course of Master's program at American University.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Departure day

By Adele Gallogly


As I boarded the plane to return to the U.S. I could not believe that my summer travels had come to an end. It has been an incredible journey, full of unforgettable learning experiences. The knowledge I have gained is invaluable, and I know I will carry the information and skills which I have learned and strengthened in my journeys throughout the course of my studies and my career. I feel very fortunate to have had these opportunities and have learned so much from the responsibilities of the internship and the course, as well as from the people which I have worked with and met along the way. I very much look forward to returning to the courses at American University, with the knowledge and skills which I have strengthened and gained from these experiences, and also look forward to further strengthening my knowledge and skills throughout the course of my Master’s program at American University.   

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Saying Goodbye to Baku

By Adele Gallogly


On July 19th and 20th I prepared for my departure from Baku to Tbilisi. My experiences in Baku and Tbilisi were great learning experiences and I look forward to continuing my exploration of the region through my paper. I had a chance to wish farewell to fellow classmates and took some final pictures of the area where we were staying before taking a taxi to the airport.
I looked forward to returning to Tbilisi for a couple of days before departing for the U.S.  Tbilisi is a beautiful city and I loved returning and exploring the city a bit before returning to the U.S. Although I did not have a chance to meet with some of my former colleagues it was very nice to wander around the Old Town which I had a chance to really get to know well when living in Tbilisi. I had a chance to view Metehki Church as well as cross the Peace Bridge and take in the view of the city. I really loved my experience in Tbilisi and would very much like to return soon!

Friday, July 18, 2014

Final day of the program...

By Adele Gallogly


Today was the final day of the program. We had a chance to hear from Ambassadors of the Caspian Basin States, it was very interesting to hear more the relationship between the EU and Azerbaijan. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to hear more about the energy relationship between the EU and the Caspian Region. At the end of the session, we had a chance to reflect on our experience and provide an evaluation of the speakers.
Following, the final session we met as a group for a beautiful reception at the end of the program. It was a great opportunity to hear from my classmates regarding their experience. The summer 2014 Baku Summer Energy School has been an incredible learning experience, which has been very rewarding.

Caspian conversations...

By Adele Gallogly


It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of the program. This morning we heard a very interesting presentation from Mr. Tanguy Cosmas, President of Statoil Azerbaijan. It was great to hear more about the activities of Statoil. In addition, we had the opportunity to hear an excellent presentation from Rikard Scoufias regarding the Trans Adriatic Pipeline. It was wonderful to hear more about the Trans Adriatic Pipeline and how it can connect gas to multiple European markets. We also had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Volkan Ozdemir regarding Caspian Energy and the perspective from Turkey. These presentations were excellent and extremely informative.
Throughout the program we have had a chance to meet as a group for very nice lunches. It has been a great opportunity to converse with fellow classmates and hear more about their experiences prior to attending the Baku Summer Energy School. Today, was a very interesting lunch as we had the opportunity to come together as a group for barbeque. We were divided into groups, with each group having the chance to chat and get acquainted with an oil company representative. It was a great opportunity to meet with and hear more from representatives of oil companies including Statoil and BP.
I very much look forward to the roundtable discussion with Ambassadors of the Caspian Basin States tomorrow!

Energy security and the big players in the region...

By Adele Gallogly


On Monday, July 15th we had a chance to hear from John Roberts. He provided an excellent presentation on The Southern Corridor, Ukraine and European Energy Security.  We had the opportunity to hear more about the important role of natural gas in European Energy Security. It was also very interesting and a wonderful learning experience having the chance to gain a deeper understanding of the Southern Corridor and energy issues in Ukraine.
It was great having the chance to hear from John Roberts. 

 On July 16th, 2014, we met with Huseyn Mamadov of BP. It was great to hear more about BP and their operations. We had the opportunity to hear more about the history of BP and Azerbaijan. It was a very interesting presentation and I looked forward to the opportunity to later hear more about TOTAL and their operations in France and around the world. Mr. Christian Guidcielli, the general manager of TOTAL gave an excellent presentation on TOTAL on July 16th, 2014 , it was a great learning experience to hear more about their activities around the world.