Azerbaijan's Energy Partnership With Europe Enters New Phase

VNG AG and SOCAR have signed a long-term partnership agreement aimed at strengthening energy cooperation between the two companies.

VNG AG Head of Corporate Development Oliver Hill said this at the German-Azerbaijani Strategic Partnership and Connectivity Conference.

According to Hill, the partnership has two main goals, covering both the short and long term.

In the short term, the focus is on supplying Europe with energy, including natural gas. In the longer term, the partnership is aimed at transforming the energy business from its current reliance on fossil fuels toward a decarbonized energy system.

"Europe has already started importing Azerbaijani gas this year. We would like to increase these volumes. This is one of our goals and part of our cooperation," Hill noted.

He added that the longer-term objective was to support the energy transition in both Europe and Azerbaijan, creating opportunities for cooperation between the two markets.

Hill also emphasized that the companies see potential for securing long-term supplies to Azerbaijan over the next 15 to 20 years. This could eventually create opportunities to invest in Azerbaijan's energy infrastructure and develop supplies of products such as hydrogen and biomethane to Europe.

The partnership therefore combines efforts to expand Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe in the near term with plans to develop new forms of energy cooperation as the European energy market moves toward decarbonization.

MENAFN06102026000195011045ID1111766681