Ilham Aliyev: If there is additional demand from European consumers, we need to start negotiations

“We have started our export of natural gas to Europe in the last day of the last year 31 December, and since that time the profile of our export is growing. We are a reliable supplier of oil to European market for many years, for 15 years without any disruption. And now as a reliable supplier of natural gas we play our role,” President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the Spanish EFE news agency, Report informs.

“Our gas is cheaper, than gas from different sources and it comes from a new source. The importance of the Southern Gas Corridor is not only because of its additional gas, but because of its alternative source. And this is an issue of energy security. Our gas which we are sending to European consumers have been contracted. We already sold it. Therefore, if there is additional demand from European consumers we need to start negotiations, because first you have to sell the gas and then you have to extract it. In the gas business it’s a common consequence of actions.

And the deposits of the proven reserve of the natural gas in Azerbaijan are 2.6 trillion cubic meters. So, it will be enough for at least 100 years for our consumption and for exports. We are now in the phase of new discoveries. The interest of Azerbaijani oil and gas sector among the big energy companies is growing. So, we can increase the output and increase the production, but for that we need to start the negotiations now and sign new contracts and then we will invest to produce more,” President Aliyev said.