BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 2
Trend:
The deposits of the proven reserve of natural gas in Azerbaijan are 2.6 trillion cubic meters. So, it will be enough for at least 100 years for our consumption and for exports, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Spanish EFE news agency, Trend reports.
"We have started our export of natural gas to Europe in the last day of the last year 31 December, and since that time the profile of our export is growing. We are a reliable supplier of oil to the European market for many years, for 15 years without any disruption. And now as a reliable supplier of natural gas, we play our role. Our gas is cheaper than gas from different sources and it comes from a new source. The importance of the Southern Gas Corridor is not only because of its additional gas but because of its alternative source. And this is an issue of energy security," President Aliyev said.
"Our gas which we are sending to European consumers have been contracted. We already sold it. Therefore, if there is additional demand from European consumers we need to start negotiations because first you have to sell the gas and then you have to extract it. In the gas business, it’s a common consequence of actions. And the deposits of the proven reserve of natural gas in Azerbaijan are 2.6 trillion cubic meters. So, it will be enough for at least 100 years for our consumption and for exports. We are now in the phase of new discoveries. The interest of the Azerbaijani oil and gas sector among the big energy companies is growing. So, we can increase the output and increase the production, but for that, we need to start the negotiations now and sign new contracts and then we will invest to produce more," the head of state said.