Negotiations Underway for Azerbaijani Gas Supplies to Slovenia and Slovakia – Ilham Aliyev

Azerbaijan and the European Union have established a strategic partnership in the energy sector, aiming to double Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe by the end of 2027. This was announced by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on July 18 during his speech at a roundtable on “Energy and Connectivity” held within the framework of the 4th European Political Community Summit in Oxford.

“If in 2021 Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe amounted to 8 billion cubic meters, this year this volume will be approximately 13 billion cubic meters. The total volume of exports in 2021 was 18 billion cubic meters, and this year it will be 25 billion cubic meters, with more than half of this volume going to Europe,” the head of state noted.

Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijani gas is purchased by eight countries, five of which – Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Hungary, and Romania – are EU members. Two other countries – Georgia and Serbia – are candidates for EU membership. Additionally, Azerbaijan supplies gas to Turkey.

Aliyev reported on a recent “important event” in gas cooperation between Azerbaijan and Slovenia. “We hope that in the next few months we will also enter the Slovenian market. As interconnector projects are implemented in Europe, additional opportunities for Azerbaijani gas supplies to more European countries will emerge,” Aliyev continued.

According to him, Azerbaijan has the resources and infrastructure for this. “We need to accelerate negotiations with our new partners – Slovenia and Slovakia, as well as increase supplies to existing markets. For instance, if our supplies to Italy are 9 billion cubic meters of gas, it needs 20 billion cubic meters from us. This is one of the examples of the high demand for Azerbaijani gas,” Aliyev said.

In his view, Azerbaijan has established itself as a reliable supplier of energy resources. Together with its partners, Azerbaijan built and put into operation the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which for the first time in history connected the Caspian and Mediterranean Seas.

He noted that Azerbaijan currently supplies oil from the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in Turkey to various regions, including “very sensitive destinations that heavily depend on Azerbaijani oil.” “In some countries, the consumption of Azerbaijani oil constitutes fifty percent or more of their demand,” Aliyev stressed.