"We are holding talks with several other European Union member states on launching gas exports and increasing existing supply volumes," President Ilham Aliyev said at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum, APA reports.
"This year, we started supplying gas to Germany and Austria. This is part of our overall strategy to expand our position in the global, and particularly the European, gas market. The European market is a premium market. Prices there are more favorable. Therefore, we are very interested in expanding our presence in this market. Azerbaijan currently exports natural gas via pipelines to 16 countries. We rank first in the world in terms of the geography of pipeline gas supplies. We are not stopping there. We are currently holding talks with several other European Union member states on launching gas exports and increasing existing supply volumes. In other words, we are receiving requests both for new supplies and for higher volumes," the head of state said.
According to the President, Azerbaijan's gas has become even more important in today's energy market as a reliable, predictable and alternative source than in previous years.
"We have the potential to increase both production and exports. Just one month ago, we launched production under the Deep Gas project at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field. Output from existing fields will also increase in line with the work program and investment portfolio.
In addition, significant progress is being made in renewable energy. These sources already allow us to save substantial volumes of natural gas, and this figure will increase further in the future. By 2032, we plan to reach 8 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity. This will enable us to save several billion cubic meters of natural gas currently used for electricity generation, making that volume available for export.
Thus, we have two major advantages: growing gas production and an existing market. The main task now is to expand and modernize the transport infrastructure connecting these two factors. The current gas transport infrastructure was designed and built based on the pre-2022 scenario. The pipeline capacity was determined in line with production forecasts and field development strategies at that time.
Because gas can be extracted over 10 years or over 100 years if you wish. For us, it was more appropriate to maintain stable production over decades rather than invest more to produce larger volumes over a shorter period. Our strategy was built accordingly."
The President noted that demand for Azerbaijani gas in Europe had increased sharply after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.
"The European Commission approached us and asked us to increase production as quickly as possible, and we did so.
By the way, during the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Azerbaijan, it was announced that since 2022, our gas exports to the European Union have increased by 65%. This growth will continue in the future. Therefore, expanding the existing transport infrastructure is essential. However, the main obstacle is the European Union's Green Agenda. European banks are no longer willing to finance fossil fuel projects. Therefore, the key question is where to find financing for expanding the transport infrastructure."
The President added that increasing the capacity of gas pipelines is also essential.
"The other, perhaps even more important issue, is long-term contracts. This is exactly what I discussed with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. We need long-term contracts because we must make major investments to significantly increase production. If, after some time, we are told, 'Thank you, we no longer need your gas,' then what should we do with those investments? Therefore, there are two main issues: signing long-term contracts and expanding the capacity of the gas transmission system.
In addition, market diversification is of great importance. We have already begun exporting gas to a market we had never previously considered—Syria. In the future, we will also have the opportunity to expand gas supplies through Syria to neighboring countries. There is strong demand for energy resources in that region. In this regard, the most important issues in our relations with our European partners are the signing of long-term contracts and joint efforts to expand the existing gas transmission system."
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