Azerbaijan may supply gas to three Balkan countries on Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that Azerbaijan will be able to supply gas to three Balkan countries after the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) comes online.

“After the beginning of the Ukrainian-Russian war, the issue of natural gas became one of the main key issues on the European agenda,” President Aliyev said at the 48th International Cernobbio Forum in Italy on September 2, according to Interfax Azerbaijan.

“There are many projects, one of which is the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria. Another similar project is the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline [IAP]. Azerbaijani gas will be supplied to three Balkan countries through this [IAP] pipeline,” the president noted.

President Aliyev added that Azerbaijan has recently received official requests from more than 10 countries, namely, Georgia, Türkiye, Italy, Bulgaria and others, either to increase the volume of gas supplies or to start supplying.

According to the previous information, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania signed a declaration on IAP in 2007, which should be connected to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), through which Azerbaijani gas is currently supplied to Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria.

The length of the IAP will be 530 kilometres, while the capacity is estimated at five billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year. The projected cost of the project is 610 million euros ($610.3 million). The gas pipeline should pass through Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, linking Croatia’s Split city and Albania’s Fier city. The commissioning of the gas pipeline is scheduled for 2025.

One of the IAP’s technical consultants is the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic - SOCAR.

Earlier, President Aliyev said that Azerbaijan was ready to supply gas to the Western Balkans if there were necessary contracts and infrastructure.

Azerbaijan exported 8.2 bcm of gas to Europe in 2021 while 12 bcm of gas will be supplied in 2022. In general, 24 bcm of Azerbaijani gas will be exported in 2022, which is 2 bcm more than in 2021.