After the expiration of the current agreement with Russia at the end of the year, Ukraine and the European Union have appealed to Azerbaijan to supply natural gas to Europe through Ukraine, Azernews reports, citing Bloomberg.President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made this statement at a conference held in Shusha on Saturday."Discussions with Ukraine, the EU, and Russia are ongoing, and all parties are interested in continuing the supply," said Aliyev.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Ukraine is negotiating to facilitate the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to the EU. This move aims to maintain Ukraine's role as a transit country and support the energy security of its western neighbors. Zelensky told Bloomberg that among the proposals being discussed is an agreement to replace Russian gas with Azerbaijani supplies.
The agency reports that Europe has been attempting to reduce its dependence on Russian gas since the occupation of Ukraine. However, some European countries still receive gas through pipelines via Ukraine. The current transit agreement expires at the end of 2024, and many anticipate that the flow of Russian gas will cease due to the ongoing war.
Aliyev highlighted that countries such as Austria and Slovakia could face significant challenges if the transport of Russian gas through Ukraine ceases, as they would need to pay higher prices to procure gas from alternative sources.
The Azerbaijani leader noted that his country's gas production is poised to increase due to new and existing projects in the Caspian Sea. In 2022, Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Commission to double gas exports to Europe to 20 billion cubic meters by 2027.
Aliyev affirmed that Azerbaijan is progressing toward this goal, with exports to Europe set to rise from 11.8 billion cubic meters in 2023 and 8 billion cubic meters in 2021 to nearly 13 billion cubic meters this year.
"The supply will be transported through the pipeline network known as the Southern Gas Corridor, connecting Azerbaijan to Europe via Georgia and Turkey," stated Aliyev.
It notes that Azerbaijan also continues to import natural gas from Turkmenistan on a swap basis.
https://www.azernews.az/oil_and_gas/228950.html