Diversification of Azerbaijan`s supply sources of natural gas and green energy was discussed in Romania

Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov attended the 5th Romanian International Gas Conference on the theme "Bridge To The Future". Parviz Shahbazov spoke at the Ministerial Meeting with the participation of Nikolai Ciuka, Romanian Prime Minister as well as at the ministerial panel “From Vision to Reality”. The Minister spoke about Azerbaijan's contribution to the supply of diversified sources of supply, which will balance the energy markets in order to overcome the energy crisis: "In less than two years, Europe has been supplied with over 16 billion cubic meters of gas. Gas supplies to Europe will increase from 8.2 bcm to 11.5 bcm with an increase of 40% by the end of 2022. And this is confirmation that the Southern Gas Corridor is operating at maximum capacity, as well as uninterrupted and stable supply. Today's role of the Southern Gas Corridor in energy security is a real expression of the vision of the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev."

The Minister of Energy noted that next step in ensuring energy security was the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor within 5 years. It was noted that in order to double the export of natural gas and bring it to 20 billion cubic meters, investments should be made to increase the transmission capacity of pipelines and production, contracts should be signed and technical measures taken. “Our common interest lies in the speedy implementation of this project. The Memorandum of Understanding recently signed in July between Azerbaijan and the European Union on a strategic partnership in the field of energy is a decisive step for our joint activities and provides the necessary political support. We believe that thanks to the joint political will, Azerbaijani natural gas will enter Europe at a time crucial for energy security - in 2027.”

In the long term, Azerbaijan's plans to provide a source of renewable energy and hydrogen supply in the European diversification process were brought to the attention. In this regard, the importance of the Georgian-Romanian Black Sea submarine power and digital connectivity project for the transmission of wind energy of the Caspian Sea to Europe and the implementation of the “green energy” corridor was emphasized. It was noted that our country will become a reliable partner in the field of “green energy” and these new cooperation priorities will also raise the energy partnership with Romania to a new stage.