The EU closes an agreement with Azerbaijan to double gas supply until 2027 – HuffPost

The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Alíev, have signed this Monday the memorandum of understanding to double the supply of Azerbaijani gas to the community block in 2027. “We will double the supply of gas from Azerbaijan to the EU. With this memorandum of understanding we are committed to expanding the Southern Gas Corridor”, Von der Leyen said in a press appearance after signing the document at the Zagulba presidential residence, some 25 kilometers northwest of Baku on the picturesque sea coast. Caspian. The German has affirmed that it is already a very important supply route for the EU that currently delivers more than 8,000 million cubic meters of gas to Europe per year. “And we will expand its capacity to 20,000 million cubic meters in a few years,” Von der Leyen pointed out. The European Commission specified that the objective is to reach at least 20,000 million cubic meters of gas per year in 2027. The EU is turning to trustworthy energy suppliers. Azerbaijan is one of them. With today’s agreement, we commit to expanding the Southern Gas Corridor, to double gas supplies from Azerbaijan to the EU. This is good news for our supplies of gas this winter and beyond. pic.twitter.com/j1sVcv10z6— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 18, 2022 “Starting next year we should already reach 12,000 million cubic meters. This will help compensate for the cuts in Russian gas supplies and contribute significantly to Europe’s security of supply”, stressed the president of the Community Executive. Von der Leyen has highlighted that even before the “brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian gas supply to Europe was no longer reliable. The EU, she indicated, therefore decided to diversify supplies “moving away from Russia and approaching more reliable partners.” Addressing Aliev, the EC president stated that Azerbaijan “is a crucial energy partner” for Europe, and He has always been trustworthy.” “Not only for our security of supply, but also on our path towards climate neutrality”, he remarked, and stressed that the memorandum of understanding signed this Monday will strengthen this alliance even more. The GasAliev South Corridor recalled that the Corridor Sur de Gas has 3,500 kilometers and has been operating at full capacity for less than two years and with all the segments finished. “We already see the benefits of this cooperation,” he said. “The issue of energy security is more important now than ever and a long-lasting, predictable and very reliable cooperation in the field of energy is of course a great asset”, he stressed. The Southern Gas Corridor is fed by the giant Shah field Deniz II, in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. It consists of the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP), its last section, which connects the Trans-Anatolian Gas Natural Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea and ends in southern Italy. The capacity of the TAP is currently 10,000 million cubic meters of gas per year. Renewable energiesVon der Leyen has also stated that the memorandum also includes the issue of renewable energies, since Azerbaijan has “tremendous potential” in this field, especially in offshore wind energy and green hydrogen. “The memorandum creates the basis for solid cooperation in this field, so that Azerbaijan gradually turns from being a supplier of fossil energy to a very reliable and important partner for the EU in renewable energy”, He added. The head of the EC has also stressed that cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan has to adapt to the response to climate change, which includes, for example, emissions. methane emissions. “Our memorandum of understanding establishes commitments to reduce methane emissions throughout the entire supply chain,” said Von der Leyen, who has encouraged Alíev to join the global methane commitment, currently supported by 119 countries. Azerbaijan has a tremendous potential in renewable energy. Today we are laying the ground for a new partnership in this area. And we commit to reducing methane emissions through the entire gas supply chain. https://t.co/DQtFG7GFbu— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 18, 2022 YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED