BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 25. Additional volumes from the Southern Gas Corridor could make material contribution to Europe’s diversification efforts, Nikos Tsafos, the James R. Schlesinger Chair in Energy and Geopolitics with the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told Trend.
"The Southern Gas Corridor is already essential for European energy security, and additional volumes could make a material contribution to Europe’s efforts to diversify from Russia. What is unclear, however, is how much additional gas can be made available and in what timeframe. This is something on which we need more clarity," he said.
Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor began on December 31, 2020. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the European leg of the Corridor, has recently reached the milestone of 10 billion cubic meters, which is the pipeline's full capacity. TAP's may be expanded to transport 20 billion cubic meters of gas per year, a decision that can be made after market tests.
To date, Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Europe via TAP have reached 11 billion cubic meters.
Tsafos noted that the pressure for sanctioning Russian gas is mounting, but there is still no agreement among the member states.
"It is more likely to see some measures to reduce imports from Russia, rather than a complete cutoff. Losing Russian gas would be hugely disruptive for Europe. In the short term, LNG can make up some of the lost volumes but not fully. Europe would have to engage in rationing to manage a total interruption in Russian gas supplies," he added.
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