Azerbaijan’s Supplies on Southern Gas Corridor Exceed 73 Bcm

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy revealed, as of November 25, approximately 73.3 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas was transported via the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) to Türkiye, and onward to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) – the final section of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC).

The Ministry’s statement came as TANAP, the largest segment of the SGC that supplies Azerbaijani gas to Europe, marked five years since the opening of its part connecting to Europe.

TANAP delivers natural gas from Azerbaijan’s Caspian offshore Shah Deniz gas-condensate field to consumers in Türkiye and Europe. The pipeline connects to the South Caucasus Pipeline at the Türkiye-Georgia border and to the TAP at the Türkiye-Greece border.

The contracted annual capacity of TAP and TANAP is 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) and 16 bcm per year, respectively.

The 3,500-kilometer-long SGC pipeline strengthens European energy security, diversifying its energy supplies and boosting decarbonization efforts by replacing coal consumption in Europe with an uninterrupted flow of Azerbaijani natural gas.

The SGC, defined as one of the world’s most complex and expensive pipelines built to date, is a unique energy route that carries natural gas from the Caspian Sea reserves directly to the European markets. The main source of natural gas for the SGC is Azerbaijan’s offshore Shah Deniz field, with an estimated proven reserve of 1.2 trillion cubic meters.

The overall reserves of Azerbaijan are estimated at over 2.6 trillion cubic meters of gas, allowing the country to increase gas exports as seen in year-on-year statistics since the end of 2020.

Ten of the twelve countries receiving Azerbaijani gas are in Europe. The European Commission has requested Baku to double the gas supply to Europe by 2027, a goal outlined in the Declaration signed by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President Ilham Aliyev in 2022.

Starting December 1, 2024, Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has begun supplying natural gas to Slovakia. With this, Slovakia has joined Türkiye, Georgia, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, and North Macedonia as buyers of Azerbaijani gas.

Azerbaijan's gas exports during the first ten months of 2024 reached approximately 20.7 bcm, marking a 4.6% increase compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Ministry of Energy.

Of this total, around 8.2 bcm were supplied to Türkiye, 10.6 bcm to Europe, and 1.9 bcm to Georgia. During this period, 4.7 bcm of gas was transported to Türkiye through TANAP.

During this period, gas exports to Europe rose by 8.6% (800 million cubic meters), while exports to Türkiye grew by 1.3% (100 million cubic meters). The export volume to Georgia remained unchanged.

Officials in Azerbaijan have revealed the country’s intention to put two new gas fields into operation, in response to the growing demand for natural gas in the global markets. The new reserves are expected to add a significant portion to the current volumes reaching European consumers.

One of the country’s biggest gas condensate fields, Absheron, is expected to be put into operation and produce 1.5 bcm per year in its first phase. The other big fields with untapped potential are Babak with estimated reserves of 400 bcm and Umid with at least 200 bcm.

Azerbaijani authorities previously confirmed 2.6 trillion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves, which they believe can supply foreign partners for decades to come.