‘Azerbaijan’s gas supplies to Europe to exceed 10 bcm by late 2022‘

Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov has said that Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Europe will exceed 10 billion cubic meters by the end of 2022. He made the remarks during the ministerial round-table on “Southeastern Energy Transition: Regional Cooperation for Energy Security, Diversification and Green Transition” held in Sofia, Bulgaria. “If the current pace of daily exports sustains, our gas exports to Europe will exceed 10 billion cubic meters by the end of 2022,” he said. He noted that so far, Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has supplied 11.6 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe. “Out of 3.5 billion cubic meters exported from Azerbaijan to Europe in the first four months of 2022, 3.1 billion cubic meters were supplied to Italy, 0.3 billion cubic meters to Greece, and 0.1 billion cubic meters to Bulgaria,” he specified.

Shahbazov stressed that the Sothern Gas Corridor (SGC) reaffirmed its strategic importance by providing European consumers with uninterrupted and affordable natural gas during the energy crisis.

“Azerbaijan is determined to continue its role as a reliable energy supplier for the region and Europe,” he said. Moreover, the minister drew attention to the energy dialogue with the EU after the February 2022 meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson. He stated that the main directions of the energy dialogue are decarbonization of the energy sector, energy transition, and efficiency, expansion of the SGC for additional gas, including hydrogen export to Europe, as well as production and export of other types of green energy. Shahbazov pointed to the importance of achieving a sustainable, affordable, and safe energy supply. “The solution to this problem is unrelated to giving preference in our energy policies either to energy security, diversification or green transition, but with keeping balance among all of them,” he said. -