EU courts Azerbaijan to raise gas exports

European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson held talks with Azerbaijan Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov on February 4 as part of the EU's drive to find alternative gas supplies in the event that Russia continues to squeeze exports to Europe amidst the crisis over Ukraine.

"We want to bring the supply of natural gas sold from Azerbaijan to Europe to 10 bcm. To do this, we must achieve a secure supply,"  Simson said.  She said that market expectations are currently being examined: “Based on the results of these studies, we can realise the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC).”

The TAP pipeline, part of the SGC, transported more than 8.1 bcm of gas from Azerbaijan into Europe last year, of which 6.8 bcm  had been carried into Italy.

In a press release, Simson said that “the current context” has brought into focus the question “of whether through this corridor we can increase in the short term gas supply, to compensate from the shortfall from other pipelines”.

“We […] discussed how to bring the Southern Gas Corridor to the next stage. We discussed the prospects for an extension of the infrastructure, in particular to the Western Balkans”, the Commissioner said.

"We currently have an existing pipeline, but it will be fully operational only in early summer," she added.

The Commissioner praised Azerbaijan as a strong partner of the EU.

"Our relations with Azerbaijan are close. Azerbaijan is a reliable partner of the EU in terms of energy security. SGC will play a major role in the reliable gas supply of the Southeast European region. Currently, there is a rise in prices in the energy market. From this point of view, I think that the SGC is important for the energy supply of this part of Europe," the Commissioner said.

President Ilham Aliyev said last week that Azerbaijan exported 19 bcm of gas in 2021. "This includes 8.5 bcm to Turkey and 7 bcm to Italy. It also exported gas to Georgia, Greece, and Bulgaria. Azerbaijan's proven gas reserves are 2.6 tcm and the largest field is Shah Deniz, with 1 tcm", he added.

"I am sure that there will be more. If you look at our experience in developing oil and gas fields, you can see that the results always turn out to be higher than predicted," he concluded.

Aliyev also said that the Babek field has gas reserves of 400 bcm, and Umid 200 bcm. "In addition, we have great hopes for the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block of fields. There will be several hundred billion cubic meters of gas in the deep layers of these fields, and I believe that this gas will be produced in the near future," Aliyev said.

Simson and EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Oliver Várhelyi attended the 8th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Consultative Council. The meeting was held on February 4 with Shahbazov opening the panel.

On the sidelines of the conference,  Várhelyi also met MFA Jeyhun Bayramov the same day. Varhelyi said that a €2bn financial package had been allocated to Azerbaijan within the economic investment plan and that the implementation of specific projects was being considered. He also added that the EU was ready to participate in the process of restoration and reconstruction in Azerbaijan.