Azerbaijan could export gas via Ukraine to the European Union (EU) after the deal with Russia ends - Bloomberg reported.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Ukraine and the EU have approached Azerbaijan to propose gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine after the existing contract with Russia expired at the end of this year.
President Aliyev said that negotiations continue with the Ukrainian and EU governments as well as with Russia, and all sides seem interested in continuing gas supplies.
We will help if we can. I think this deal can be extended, said Aliyev.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month that Kiev was negotiating to transport natural gas from Azerbaijan to the EU.
Ukraine is seeking to maintain its role as a transit country and help ensure the energy security of its Western neighbours.
Mr Zelensky told Bloomberg in an interview that an agreement to replace Russian gas with Azerbaijani gas is one of the proposals being discussed.
The EU has been trying to wean itself off Russian gas since the Ukraine conflict, but some European countries continue to receive the gas via pipelines through Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine signed a 5-year gas transit agreement, from 2019 to 2024. The deal expires at the end of this year and as the war continues, many market watchers predict that Russian gas flows will stop.
President Aliyev pointed out that European countries such as Austria and Slovakia will face serious problems if Russian gas supplies through Ukraine stop because they will have to pay hundreds of millions of USD to buy gas from elsewhere.
He added that Azerbaijan is trying to be cautious because it has previously been accused of re-exporting Russian gas.
President Aliyev said that Azerbaijan's gas production is expected to increase from new and existing projects in the Caspian Sea.
In 2022, Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Commission to double gas exports to Europe to 20 billion cubic meters per year by 2027.
Azerbaijan is moving towards this goal. Gas exports to Europe will increase to nearly 13 billion cubic meters this year from 11.8 billion cubic meters in 2023 and 8 billion cubic meters in 2021.
Mr. Aliyev pointed out that the gas will be transported through the Southern Gas Corridor connecting Azerbaijan with Europe via Georgia and Turkey.
Before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, nearly 150 billion cubic meters of Russian gas passed through the gas pipelines in Ukraine each year.
Ukraine and the EU have lowered their chances of extending or reaching a new agreement on gas transit as diplomatic relations with Russia deteriorate due to the conflict.
