BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 24. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) will supply 500 million cubic meters of gas to the Balkan Gas Hub in 2024, an informed source told Trend.
"Since 2023, we have been selling part of Azerbaijan's gas volumes at the new Balkan Gas Hub in Bulgaria, and we are targeting a volume of 500 million cubic meters in 2024, significantly exceeding last year's figure," the source said.
He noted that SOCAR made its debut at the Balkan Gas Hub in 2023, which played an important role in increasing European interest in this market trading platform.
"In 2024, thanks to the agreement signed between SOCAR and Türkiye's BOTAS in Baku on June 4, spot gas at the Balkan Gas Hub will flow through the Malkoclar gas distribution hub on the Turkish-Bulgarian border at a volume of approximately 2.5 million cubic meters of gas per day, totaling 500 million cubic meters for the year," the source emphasized.
According to another contract signed in 2013 for 25 years between Bulgaria and the Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company Limited (AGSC), which is responsible for exporting gas from the Shah Deniz Caspian field, Bulgaria has been receiving gas from the field through the Southern Gas Corridor (Türkiye's section - TANAP, EU's section - TAP) since 2021.