Azerbaijani President ready to increase gas supplies to Europe

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Saturday he was ready to negotiate with Europe for additional gas supplies through the Southern Gas Corridor next year, at a time when gas reserves in Europe are at record lows and prices are at record highs.

"The gas we send to European consumers has already been contracted, we have already sold it. Therefore, if there were additional demand, we would have to start negotiations. Because first we have to sell the gas and then extract it," he told Efe in a video-conference interview from Baku.

Azerbaijan began supplying gas to Europe through the Southern Gas Corridor on December 31, 2020, and since then "the profile of our exports is growing," Aliyev said.

"We have been for many years a reliable supplier of oil to the European market, without any interruption, and now, as a reliable supplier of natural gas we play our role," he said.

The head of state stressed that Azerbaijani gas "is cheaper than that of others and comes from a new source".

The pipeline transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to southern and eastern Europe via the Caucasus and Turkey, and this year more than 5 billion cubic metres of gas will reach the Old Continent through this gas infrastructure.

"The importance of the Southern Gas Corridor is not only because it means additional gas, but also because it is an alternative source. And this is an energy security issue," Aliyev emphasised.

"The potential is really big. The pipeline is in operation. In the future, we will be able to expand the geography of supplies to Europe, to the Balkans and some other Eastern European countries. And that will be good for consumers, for us, for companies, for everybody. For energy security," he insisted.

He stressed that Azerbaijan's natural gas reserves are 2.6 trillion cubic metres, enough to cover domestic consumption and exports for at least 100 years.

"And now we are in a phase of new discoveries and interest in the Azerbaijani oil and gas sector among large energy companies is growing. We can increase production, but for that we have to start negotiating now and sign new contracts".

Aliyev admitted that it is too late to send additional gas to Europe for the rest of the year, but he points to next year. "It is not technically and commercially possible. There are only one or two months left. But if we start now, I think we will be ready for next winter," he said.

"And there is the potential to increase (exports). Also, now we and foreign investors are actively investing in renewable energy, so we will have more natural gas that we can export, because we will replace it with solar and wind energy," he added.