Austrian media publishes article on Azerbaijan's growing role in energy security of Europe
By Trend
The Austrian Dasfazit.at online newspaper published an article titled ‘Azerbaijan forms foundations of Europe's energy security’ on October 12, highlighting the troublesome issue of the energy crisis in Europe and the role of Azerbaijan on the way to becoming a reliable partner capable of forming the foundations of the energy security of Europe, Trend reports.
The article emphasized that, despite the growing attraction of EU countries to renewable energy sources, as well as a sharp drop in demand for fuels during the COVID pandemic, the post-COVID period was marked by an unprecedented rise in demand for traditional energy sources, since the expansion of industrial and economic development in the EU countries required the availability of cheaper energy sources.
According to the article, the Ukrainian crisis has also contributed to the intensification of the current trend in the search for alternative options regarding energy resources.
The success of the efforts of the EU countries, undertaken to get rid of dependence on Russian energy carriers, will directly depend on the potential of alternative energy sources, as well as on the capabilities of the supplier countries. At this stage, Europe is just facing a number of obstacles, the article noted.
As indicated in the publication, namely specifics of potential suppliers and the conditions for transporting energy carriers which are of vital importance for European buyers, since the priority for European energy markets in the implementation of such projects are such basic principles as security, availability and sustainability.
For example, according to the article, the Persian Gulf countries represented by Qatar and the UAE, which could increase the export of energy sources to Europe, lose this opportunity due to the unstable situation in the Middle East and drop out of the list [of the potential energy suppliers].
Although the Gulf countries may offer the European market new supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the price of this fuel, according to the article, will be significantly higher than natural gas, which greatly undermines the competitiveness of LNG supplies.
Moreover, as the article correctly noted, the emergence of new oil importers in the Asian region - India and China - is of great concern in Europe, because these countries offer fuel suppliers more favorable export conditions, which can boost competition in the energy market and will surely impact the price growth.
Touching upon Iran, the article noted that Iran's aspirations to claim the role of the savior of Europe have no basis, since the country's outdated energy infrastructure which needs modernization and additional investments, as well as the ongoing geopolitical confrontation with the US, encourage market players to hold distance.
In the current conditions, Azerbaijan, which, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, is moving towards realizing itself as an energy hub.
The article reminded that in 2021, the export of Azerbaijani gas to Europe amounted to 8.2 billion cubic meters, and in 2022 it's expected to equal 12 billion cubic meters, stressing that the capacity of the gas pipeline [Southern Gas Corridor] allows boosting this figure up to 20 billion cubic meters.
According to the article’s author, the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (part of the Southern Gas Corridor), completed in 2020, the function of which is to transport Azerbaijani gas from the Turkish-Greek border through Albania to southern Italy, with its further sale to Central Europe, is of particular attraction for European consumers.
The Southern Gas Corridor project is in the spotlight of officials from Germany (with its most powerful economy in Europe), who see it as an opportunity to get rid of Russian gas imports.
The article pointed out that the representative of the German CDU (Christian Democratic Union) Party Matthias Heider, speaking about the issue of the need to use gas from various sources, mentioned ‘EastMed’ [planned offshore/onshore natural gas pipeline, directly connecting East Mediterranean energy resources to mainland Greece via Cyprus and Crete] or ‘Southern Gas Corridor’.
Regarding Azerbaijan's gas reserves, the article presented a figure of 2.6 trillion cubic meters as proven reserves and about three trillion cubic meters as estimated ones.
The article also mentioned statement of Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov that gas reserves of Azerbaijan will be sufficient to provide itself, Türkiye and Europe with gas for a long time.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on a strategic partnership in the energy sector between Azerbaijan and the EU, as well as the statement by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen that "the EU is turning to trustworthy energy suppliers [and] Azerbaijan is one of them", were assessed in the article as a bright example of the growing role of Azerbaijan.
The publication also mentioned the commissioning of the IGB [Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria] with an annual capacity of three billion cubic meters, which in the future can be increased to five billion cubic meters, noting that within the framework of this project, Azerbaijani gas will become one of the guarantees of the energy security of South-Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria.
Besides, the article highlighted the issue of investments, noting that representatives of the European political establishment several times called for investing in projects with the participation of Azerbaijan in order to contribute to the expansion and improvement of the energy infrastructure.
One of the acute problems highlighted in the article was the periodic escalations of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which, according to the article, impedes the full implementation of the abovementioned projects.
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