Aliyev plans to boost Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe

Azerbaijan plans to increase gas supplies to Europe by bringing new fields into operation, President Ilham Aliyev said, ERR reported.

Aliyev said Azerbaijani gas deliveries to the European Union had risen from 8 billion cubic metres to 13 billion since the two sides signed a strategic energy partnership memorandum in 2022. The figure represents nearly half of Azerbaijan’s gas exports.

Speaking at a roundtable on innovation, connectivity and affordable energy in Dublin on Thursday, Aliyev said a pipeline running from Baku through seven countries to Italy was operating at full capacity. The system supplies gas to 10 EU countries through connections in Bulgaria.

He said capacity on the pipeline route to Greece and Italy had increased from 10 billion to 11.2 billion cubic metres a year, and called for further expansion. Aliyev also said alternative energy sources would play a growing role.

European gas prices rose sharply this year after supplies from the Persian Gulf region fell because of the war in Iran. By the end of October, prices had climbed by more than a third, and there were no signs of a decline, the article said.