Azerbaijan Italy's third-largest gas supplier

By Azernews

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Italy Mammad Ahmadzada has said that Azerbaijan is the third-largest supplier of gas to Italy, thanks to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Day.az has reported.

"Azerbaijan is the largest supplier of crude oil to Italy and now thanks to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline it is the third-largest supplier of gas," he said.

He recalled that last year Azerbaijan supplied about 7 billion cubic meters of gas to Italy.

"During his visit, Azerbaijani Energy Minister noted that if the current rate of production growth is maintained, our gas export to Italy may reach 9.5 billion cubic meters by the end of this year under long-term and spot contracts. The minister also noted that there is a possibility to transport a 10 percent hydrogen mixture via TAP after the pipeline expansion," he said.

The ambassador added that the TAP consortium management has announced that the pipeline will reach its maximum capacity.

"We are talking about 33 million cubic meters per day, or on average about 12 billion cubic meters per year, of which 10.5 billion cubic meters come for Italy," he said.

Azerbaijan is a major supplier of energy to Italy. Azerbaijan started commercial gas supplies to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor, with the completion of the TAP construction on December 31, 2020. The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has transported 8.1 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe in 2021. Of the total amount of transported gas, over 6.8 billion cubic meters reached Italy. 

Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that about 19 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas will be exported in 2022. Of this volume, more than 8 billion cubic meters will be exported to Turkey and more than 7 billion cubic meters to Italy. 

In Azerbaijan, over 100 Italian companies operating in various fields are registered. Italian firms have contracts worth more than € 10 billion ($11.8 billion) for Azerbaijani projects both inside and outside the country.

Azerbaijan's total investment in the Italian economy is estimated to be around € 1.7 billion ($2 billion), with Italy investing approximately € 770 million ($910.8 million) in Azerbaijan.

Italy was Azerbaijan's top trade partner in January-February 2022, with a total trade turnover of $3.1 billion between the two countries.

Italy was also one of the first countries to express support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, as well as an interest in participating in restoration efforts in Azerbaijan's liberated territories. Thus, Italy and Israel have already begun work on a joint project to transform the liberated Zangilan region into a smart city.