Bulgaria reports increased costs for Azerbaijani gas imports while volume drops

Bulgaria's spending on imports of Azerbaijani gas rose to €24.3 million in July 2024, up from €23.9 million during the same month last year, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

This marks an increase of nearly 1.7% year-on-year, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

For the period spanning January to July 2024, Bulgaria's total expenditure on Azerbaijani gas imports reached €165.5 million. This figure reflects a significant decline of 15.6% compared to €196 million during the corresponding period in 2023.

In terms of import volumes, Bulgaria received 77.2 million cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan in July 2024, a slight decrease from the 77.3 million cubic meters imported in July 2023, representing a reduction of 0.13%. From January to July 2024, the country imported 530 million cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan, a marginal decline of 0.65% from 533.5 million cubic meters during the same timeframe in 2023.

In a related note, Eurostat also reported that Greece's expenditure on Azerbaijani gas imports reached €57.4 million in July 2024, an increase from €55.7 million in July 2023, indicating a growth of just over 3%.

It's important to highlight that Azerbaijan commenced gas transportation to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor on December 31, 2020. This corridor facilitates the delivery of gas from the Caspian Sea region to European nations, transiting through Georgia and Türkiye.

In July 2022, Azerbaijan and the European Union agreed to double the volume of gas supplies through the Southern Gas Corridor, increasing from the current capacity of 10 billion cubic meters to 20 billion cubic meters by 2027.

By Tamilla Hasanova