Azerbaijan Wants to Increase Gas Supply to Europe by Tripling Production at the Absheron Field

Azerbaijan plans to increase gas production at the Absheron field from 1.5 billion to 5 billion cubic meters annually and to extract the first so-called deep gas from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field in 2025, President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview televised earlier this week.

Four European countries purchased Azerbaijani gas in 2022, but this year there are 12, Aliyev said. 

“We are negotiating with several other European countries regarding gas supplies. These are countries close to those already receiving our gas. I believe that supplying gas to these new countries will be possible in the coming years,” Aliyev said.

The country’s gas reserves were estimated at 2.6 trillion cubic meters but have now increased, the president said without giving a specific number.. 

Key gas fields for Azerbaijani in 2025 are the existing Absheron, Shah Deniz and Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli gas fields, located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of Baku in the Caspian Sea. 

Azerbaijan expects to extract the first so-called deep gas from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field. It is the largest oilfield developed by the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, a consortium of international oil companies, and operated by London-based BP on behalf of the consortium.

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Aliyev wants to increase gas production at the Absheron field. “We plan to work with partners to increase gas production at the Absheron field from 1.5 billion to 5 billion cubic meters annually,” he told reporters. 

The Shah Deniz field, the major starting point of the natural gas supply route from the Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe, would remain the main source.

“We are trying to help the EU cope with the gas shortage. However, we face a situation where European banks no longer finance fossil fuel projects. On the one hand, they ask us for additional supplies, but on the other hand, they deprive us of financial resources,” Aliyev said.

He also said the EU needs to consult more with Azerbaijan if the union wants to decrease its dependence on Russian gas. 

“If the European Union needs more gas from us, they also need to do their homework. We are doing ours; they need to do theirs,” the Azerbaijani president said.