Azerbaijan plans to start exporting gas to Hungary at the end of 2023, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. The President stressed that the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and a number of other European countries want to buy Azerbaijani gas.
“We have been supplying gas to Europe for a little more than two years, and the volume of our supplies is growing every year. If in 2021 the volume of supplies amounted to 8 billion cubic meters, then this year they will amount to about 12 bcm or almost half of our gas exports,” Aliyev said yesterday in Berlin at a press conference following talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Aliyev stressed that according to the memorandum signed with the EU in 2022, Azerbaijan should supply 20 bcm of gas to Europe by 2027.
“We want to expand the geography of our gas exports to Europe in the coming years,” the President said.
Aliyev added that Azerbaijani gas is currently exported to Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy. “Since 2023, deliveries to Romania have begun. At the end of 2023, we plan to start the first gas supplies to Hungary. We have now started negotiations with the Government of Albania on gasification in this country and the start of gas supplies,” he said.
At the same time, Aliyev noted the importance of building new interconnectors in Europe, which will expand the geography of Azerbaijani gas supplies.
“Naturally, it is necessary to sign long-term contracts for the purchase of gas. We know that the desire for a “green” energy transition is high in Europe. Therefore, we are interested in signing long-term contracts, and I hope that we will be able to link these issues,” the Azerbaijani president added.
Caspian Barrel
