Azerbaijan negotiates new gas supplies to EU, possibly through Ukraine
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev (facebook.com/LiderIlhamAliyev3)
Azerbaijan is in talks to expand its natural gas exports to at least three new European countries, with optimism surrounding the discussions, according to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
At a forum in Italy, Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan is already supplying gas to eight European countries and has an agreement with the region to double its exports by 2027.
"We just want to support those countries and also Ukraine... We have a certain optimism. We think that there is a ground for breakthrough," he said, without naming the countries involved.
Aliyev also confirmed that Moscow and Kyiv have approached him with a proposal to facilitate the transit of gas through Ukraine to Europe after the transit contract expires in December.
Europe is seeking new gas deals to sustain its supply after flows from Russia were reduced in 2022. These flows could be further reduced when the agreement allowing Russian gas to transit through Ukraine to the European Union expires later this year. It remains unclear whether an alternative route can be found. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that he will not allow Russia to profit from the transportation of gas through Ukraine's pipelines.
In an interview with Bloomberg in July, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv is negotiating gas supplies from Azerbaijan to the EU. A deal to replace Russian gas with Azerbaijani supplies is one of the proposals currently under discussion, Zelenskyy said at the time.
One potential solution could involve replacing Russian supplies with gas from another country, such as Azerbaijan or Turkey. This would allow Ukraine to continue receiving transit fees for the use of its gas transmission system, while Europe would continue receiving gas.
Last year, Azerbaijan exported 24 billion cubic meters of natural gas, half of which went to Europe. This year, exports to Europe are expected to reach 13 billion cubic meters, with Italy being the largest buyer. Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia began receiving gas this week.
The EU is striving to wean itself off Russian gas, but countries like Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia continue to receive it via a pipeline that runs through Ukraine.
For more details on possible supplies after 2024, see the RBC-Ukraine article "Russia aims to maintain gas transit to EU through Ukraine: What’s in it for Putin and Gazprom?"
