Azerbaijan intends to increase gas supplies to Europe at least twice, but this will require time and investment. Baku intends to achieve the ambitious goal by 2027 – this is the goal set by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, whose words are quoted by the AzerTAJ agency.
In 2022, Azerbaijan has already increased gas supplies to Europe by 40%, while the potential for demand is still high, Aliyev said. The President also recalled the recently signed memorandum with the European authorities on increasing gas supplies, but acknowledged that it would not be possible to sharply increase supplies right away – investments are needed.
“We plan to at least double gas exports to Europe. That is, if last year it was 9 billion cubic meters, then in 2027 it will be 18 billion cubic meters, and maybe more,” Ilham Aliyev said.
The President of Azerbaijan noted that in order to increase supplies, the country is launching new fields, moreover, energy cooperation between the countries can be strengthened in other energy sectors. As an example, Aliyev cited the development of renewable energy sources in the republic, which creates excess electricity that can be sent to Europe.
“Our gas, oil and electricity will be exported to the European continent. To achieve this, specific programs are currently being developed, it may be a little early to talk about this. However, I hope that serious progress will be made in this area in the next 6-7 months,” the President of Azerbaijan said.
After the start of the war in Ukraine and the reduction of Russian gas supplies, European authorities began to rapidly look for alternative fuel suppliers in order to reduce the consequences of the energy crisis. The place of Russian gas in the European market has already been largely occupied by American liquefied natural gas (LNG). In addition to him, Qatar , Algeria, Azerbaijan, Norway and other countries claim to increase their market share, which can increase gas supplies to Europe. Gas prices in Europe managed to stabilize, but they are still 3-4 times higher than last year's values. A thousand cubic meters of gas at the largest gas hub in the Netherlands traded at $1,638 on October 7.