Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.16 / Trend, A.Badalova /
Azerbaijan is developing itself as a regional hub of oil exports, Senior Researcher at Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael, Christof van Agt said at the VI Caspian Oil and Gas Trading and Transportation Conference in Baku on Tuesday.
"Azerbaijan has been very successful in developing ACG fields," he said.
Talking about gas, he stressed the role of Azerbaijan, and the Caspian region as a whole in diversification of the EU's energy supplies.
"The EU presents an essential market for the Caspian region, in particular because of the beneficial prices it can offer," Christof van Agt said.
He also mentioned that Azerbaijan intends to export 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe, however, he said that the country has much larger export potential, and it will be able to export more gas as the new fields come on stream.
On the way of the realization of the Southern Gas Corridor, which will enable Azerbaijani gas o reach European markets, Christof van Agt stressed the importance of the move by Azerbaijan and Turkey to jointly develop the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP).
The Southern Gas Corridor is a major energy project for the EU. It is intended to diversify routes and sources of supply. It is aimed at ensuring EU energy security. Gas which will be produced during the second stage of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field development is considered as the main source for the Souther Gas Corridor projects.