(MENAFN- AzerNews) Azerbaijan aims to raise gas exports to Europe by around 17%from current levels by 2026, with further increases dependentlargely on EU demand and infrastructure developments, VitaliyBaylarbayov, deputy vice president of Azerbaijan's state oilcompany SOCAR, told Montel News, Azernews reports.
“We are expanding [production and export capacity] now and theresults of that should be ready by 2026, when we will furtherincrease our supplies to Italy, Greece and to Bulgaria,”Baylarbayov said at the Budapest LNG Summit.
The country was eyeing gas exports of close to 14bcm tosoutheast European countries in two years' time, from 12bcm lastyear, he said.
The rise would be due to a combination of production growth andcapacity expansions on the three transit pipelines that make up theSouthern Gas Corridor, which links Azerbaijan, via Türkiye, withGreece and Italy, he noted.
But further increases in Azerbaijan's supply to Europe woulddepend largely on the region's demand requirements and itscommitment to invest in new infrastructure, Baylarbayov said on thesidelines of the event.
“For example, we are intending to send an additional 5bcm viathe Solidarity Ring to the Balkan countries,” he said, regarding aplanned route – for which a memorandum of understanding was signedlast year – between Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
And“similar volumes” could be additionally shipped via theSouthern Gas Corridor to Italy, Greece and their neighbors, hesaid, adding“this is what we can produce and deliver.”
“I cannot say that this all will come simultaneously, or thatthis will all come in one and the same year – it all depends onwhen infrastructure will be ready and when our upstream will beready,” he said.
But he stressed“certain projects” did not depend on SOCAR, butrather the European customers.
“The decisions in Europe should be made by the Europeans.”
“We are interested in supplying more, [but] it is crucial tohave the infrastructure,” he said, adding that Europe would remainAzerbaijan's primary market for the years ahead.
Azerbaijan started exporting gas to Europe on December 31, 2020 to the agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU, by 2027,supplies of Azerbaijani gas should reach at least 20 billion cubicmeters per year.
At the same time, by the end of 2025, the TAP gas pipeline, aspart of the first stage of expansion, will be ready to acceptadditional 1.2 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas, of which,from 2026, Italy will receive 1 billion cubic meters, and Albaniawill receive another 200 million cubic meters.
As part of the Solidarity Ring project, on April 25, 2023, aceremony was held in Sofia to sign a Memorandum of Understanding onthe development of cooperation between gas transmission systemoperators in Bulgaria (Bulgartransgaz), Romania (Transgaz), Hungary(FGSZ), Slovakia (Eustream), as well as SOCAR. The memorandumdefines the areas of cooperation between the four transmissionsystem operators and SOCAR for the supply of additional gas fromAzerbaijan to Europe. Additional supplies will be carried outthrough the modernized gas transmission networks of Bulgaria,Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.
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