News.Az: Scope for Azerbaijan to export gas to Russia and Europe

News.Az interviews Laura Parmigiani, research fellow at Energy Centre of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI).

How do you assess Azerbaijan's role in European energy security?

Azerbaijan is already connected to the European energy market thanks to the South Caucasus Pipeline, which enables Azerbaijan to export oil to Europe through Georgia and Turkey. But many investments are under way as Azerbaijan can play a double role in future European gas supply. First of all, European demand is expected to increase by 2030, with the most optimistic scenarios forecasting an increase of 70 billion cubic metres (bcm) already by 2020. This demand is expected in Central and Eastern European countries in particular, where the energy mix is still based on sources with greater carbon emissions, such as coal.

What’s more, as domestic production is progressively decreasing (and since potential shale gas reserves have yet to be proved), Azerbaijan can have a place in meeting European gas needs overall. On the other hand, Azeri gas represents a good opportunity for Europe to diversify through Southern Corridor supplies, as it is largely reliant on Russian gas.  MORE