Azerbaijan exports gas worth $1.4bn to Europe

19 October 2021 12:15 (UTC+04:00)

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By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan exported 4.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas worth $1.4 billion to Europe in the first nine months of 2021, the State Customs Committee has reported.

Of the total volume of exported natural gas, Italy accounted for 3.9 billion cubic meters worth $1.2 billion. Some 501.7 million cubic meters of natural gas worth $163.7 million were exported to Greece and 166 million cubic meters worth $25.5 million to Bulgaria.

It should be noted that during the reported period, Azerbaijan exported a total of 14.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas worth $2.9 billion.

Moreover, Turkey accounted for 7.8 billion cubic meters of the total volume of exported natural gas, worth $1.2 billion.

In the meantime, 2.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas worth $280.9 million were exported to Georgia and 169.3 million cubic meters of natural gas worth $6.4 million to Iran in January-September 2021.

Azerbaijan started commercial gas supplies to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on December 31, 2020. Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov earlier said that the TAP, as another energy link connecting Azerbaijan with Europe, will strengthen Azerbaijan's strategic role in energy security, cooperation and sustainable development.

The pipeline is supplied by natural gas from the second stage of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field development in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea through the South Caucasus Pipeline and Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP). The initial capacity of the pipeline is about 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, with the option to expand the capacity up to 20 billion cubic meters.

The Southern Gas Corridor is an initiative of the European Commission for a natural gas supply route from Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe. The route from Azerbaijan to Europe consists of the South Caucasus Pipeline, the TANAP and TAP.

Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad