Matthew Bryza: Azerbaijan to be able to supply more gas to EU than planned

Azerbaijan will be able to supply more natural gas to Europe than planned, taking into account the increase in the production of renewable energy.

The statement came from Matthew Bryza, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, an international expert and former US ambassador to Azerbaijan, Report informs.

"Azerbaijan has stated that it would like to double the supply of natural gas to Europe from 10 billion cubic metres to 20. This extra 10 billion cubic metres can definitely be sold to all European countries. But I am also sure that there will be more. I think twice as much gas can come from Azerbaijan because the country is increasing its renewable energy production. And the more renewable energy Azerbaijan produces, the less natural gas it needs to use for its own power generation," he said.

According to Bryza, the country that would benefit most from increased supplies of Azerbaijani gas is Bulgaria.

"Natural gas is not in high demand in Bulgaria. It uses about 3 or 3.2 billion cubic metres [of gas] per year. Right now, Azerbaijan supplies 10 billion cubic metres to Europe through the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline [TANAP] and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline [TAP]," he said, stressing that all EU countries would benefit from increased supplies of Azerbaijani gas.

Bryza added that since the start of the war in Ukraine, Azerbaijan has received requests from more than 10 countries both to increase supplies and to start them, but that the country is now working to increase natural gas production by attracting international investment.

In addition, he said that Turkmen gas, combined with Azerbaijani supplies, could play a major role in supplying gas to Europe.

"I think Azerbaijan as a whole could provide another 10-15, maybe even 20 billion cubic metres to Europe. And this is a very strategic point," he said.