Azerbaijan to boost gas supplies to Europe

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan plans to increase gas supplies to Europe up to 9.1 billion cubic meters by the end of 2022.

The head of the Energy Ministry international cooperation department, Orkhan Zeynalov, made the remarks in an interview with Asia Times.

He recalled that Azerbaijan exported 8.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe in 2021.

“This year we are planning to increase the export up to 9.1 billion cubic meters,” he said.

Zeynalov added that Azerbaijan is expected to supply European countries with 11 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2023.

“The more renewable we have, the more gas we will be able to export,” he added.

The department’s head also mentioned that Azerbaijan expects to increase its renewable capacity to 30 percent by 2030.

“We want to have a bigger role in Europe’s energy security architecture, but we are not trying to replace anyone’s market share,” he stressed.

Azerbaijan started commercial gas supplies to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on December 31, 2020.

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. The remaining gas will be divided between Georgia, Bulgaria, and Greece.

The president also has identified the transformation of Azerbaijan into a "green growth" country through the extensive use of renewable energy over the next 10 years as one of the national priorities that will ensure the country's socio-economic development.

Azerbaijan aims to increase the share of renewable energy sources in electricity production to 30 percent by 2030, by using the country’s solar and wind energy potential and increasing investments in this sphere. By 2030, it is planned to put into use about 1,500 MW of new installed capacity.

In this regard, Azerbaijan signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power on the construction of a 240 MW wind power plant, and with the United Arab Emirates’ Masdar company for the construction of a 230-MW solar power plant.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan is taking steps to develop renewable energy resources on territories liberated from Armenian occupation in 2020, as well as to transform the Karabakh region into a "green energy zone". In this regard, the Energy Ministry and BP signed an Implementation Agreement to construct a 240MW solar power plant in liberated Zangilan and Jabrayil regions.