By Azernews

Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov has said that Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Europe will exceed 10 billion cubic meters by the end of 2022.

He made the remarks during the ministerial round-table on “Southeastern Energy Transition: Regional Cooperation for Energy Security, Diversification and Green Transition” held in Sofia, Bulgaria.

“If the current pace of daily exports sustains, our gas exports to Europe will exceed 10 billion cubic meters by the end of 2022,” he said.

He noted that so far, Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has supplied 11.6 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe.

“Out of 3.5 billion cubic meters exported from Azerbaijan to Europe in the first four months of 2022, 3.1 billion cubic meters were supplied to Italy, 0.3 billion cubic meters to Greece, and 0.1 billion cubic meters to Bulgaria,” he specified.

Shahbazov stressed that the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) reaffirmed its strategic importance by providing European consumers with uninterrupted and affordable natural gas during the energy crisis.

“Azerbaijan is determined to continue its role as a reliable energy supplier for the region and Europe,” he said.

Moreover, the minister drew attention to the energy dialogue with the EU after the February 2022 meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson. He stated that the main directions of the energy dialogue are decarbonization of the energy sector, energy transition, and efficiency, expansion of the SGC for additional gas, including hydrogen export to Europe, as well as production and export of other types of green energy.

Shahbazov pointed to the importance of achieving a sustainable, affordable, and safe energy supply.

“The solution to this problem is unrelated to giving preference in our energy policies either to energy security, diversification or green transition, but with keeping balance among all of them,” he said.

He added that the cleanest source of hydrocarbon, natural gas, and renewable energy sources in the transition process will act not as reverse poles, but as an equal position energy resources that provide further diversification of energy supplies.

The minister also provided information about the plans and projects implemented in connection with decarbonization and the transition to green energy.

In addition to the huge natural gas reserves, he also brought to the attention that Azerbaijan’s renewable energy potential has created great opportunities for the further development of the existing progressive energy dialogue with the European Union.

Additionally, a new project on the production of green energy using about 7 GW of the Caspian wind potential and the export of part of it to Europe via a submarine power cable in the Black Sea via Georgia and Romania has been considered.

The event continued with four-panel sessions on gas supply security, regional electricity market, green transition, and future vision.