Azerbaijan to increase gas supplies to Europe by 30%

This year, 10.5 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas (+30%) are planned to be transported to Europe, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) told Report.

Some time ago, there were plans to transport 9.1 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe this year.

"Azerbaijan, which has direct access to the largest importer of the natural gas European market, has diversified its export opportunities. This not only adds value to the country's economy but also strengthens Azerbaijan's position as a reliable supplier of natural gas to Europe," SOCAR said.

The capacity of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the European part of the Southern Gas Corridor, where Azerbaijani gas is currently transported to southern Europe, is 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

The TAP AG consortium is considering three scenarios to increase pipeline capacity: limited - up to 14.4 billion cubic meters, partial - up to 17.1 billion cubic meters and full - up to 20 billion cubic meters per year.

TAP transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The 878 km long pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy.

On the first day of the project, which started the flow of natural gas to Europe on December 31, 2020, 10.9 million cubic meters of natural gas was transported to Europe via TAP.