BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 22. Azerbaijan wants to double natural gas supplies to Europe within 5 years, said Azerbaijan’s energy minister Parviz Shahbazov.
He was addressing the Romanian International Gas Conference, organized by the Romanian Oil and Gas Employers' Federation (FPPG).
“We talk very seriously know with all our partners, including also the European Commission, on the issue of extension of the Southern Gas Corridor. We can refer to the mid-term target. And we want to double within next 5 years our natural gas supplies to Europe with the aim to provide more natural gas already those our partners who are receiving our gas from Azerbaijan and also to extend our gas deliveries to the new region; so, from the southern part of Europe also to the Western Balkans and further on. This is our plan. But of course, here we have to understand that it cannot happen overnight. There is a need for an intergovernmental consultations and there is a need to make proper investment decisions. There is also a need for contracts, binding commitments from consuming countries and on the production side we need also proper investment decisions. All this package should be implemented as soon as possible, because we do not have too much time to lose,” he said.