The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has come to play a key role in Europe’s energy security as it has delivered large volumes of natural gas from Azerbaijan to EU member states, Azeri Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said on Tuesday.
Early this decade, Azerbaijan started commercial gas supplies to the European Union via TAP, as the region sought to diversify energy supplies away from Russia even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Natural gas pumped from the giant Shah Deniz 2 field in the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan began flowing into Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria on December 31, 2020.
The 878-kilometer (545 mile) TAP is a segment of the Southern Gas Corridor, which took more than $30 billion and seven years to build. TAP starts near the Evros area of Kipoi at the Greek-Turkish border, where it is connected to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) that crosses Turkey.
“So far, TAP has supplied 54.3 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe, including 45.4 billion cubic meters to Italy,” Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Shahbazov said at an Azerbaijan-Italy economic forum in Baku, as carried by Azernews.
At the sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Italy, Shahbazov met with Edmondo Cirielli, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, to discuss trade, energy, and economy.
Italy is Azerbaijan’s largest trading partner and received 38% of Azeri gas exports last year, Shahbazov posted on X today.
Azerbaijan raised its gas production by 2.4% in 2025 from the previous year, the Azeri Ministry of Energy said on Monday.
Azerbaijan produced 51.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas last year, up by 1.2 bcm, or 2.4%, compared to 2024, energy ministry data showed.
Azeri natural gas exports stood at 25.2 bcm last year, flat compared to 2024. Europe was the biggest export destination with half of Azerbaijan’s gas deliveries last year. At 12.8 bcm, the volumes of gas supplied to Europe inched down by 0.78%.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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