Azerbaijan’s state energy firm SOCAR has started delivering Azeri natural gas to Germany and Austria, in another milestone for Europe that looks to ditch Russian gas by 2027.
SOCAR has started selling significant volumes of gas via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the European segment of the Southern Gas Corridor, to the markets of Southern and Central Europe.
Starting January 2026, Azerbaijan’s gas is being supplied to buyers in Austria and Germany, too, SOCAR said in a statement on Friday.
The gas supply to Austria and Germany is via connections to TAP in Italy and further expands the geographical reach of Azerbaijani gas in Europe.
With Germany and Austria, Azerbaijan now sell its gas in 16 different countries.
The Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan has long been viewed as an alternative to Russian gas supply to Europe, which has slumped since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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 earlier this week at a meeting with Edmondo Cirielli, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy.
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.
Russia cut off many EU customers in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, while supply to Germany was stopped after the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022.
Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, previously the top buyer of Russian gas, has turned to LNG supply and has built regasification and floating import terminals to receive cargoes.
The EU last month reached an agreement to permanently stop the import of Russian gas. The bloc will phase out LNG imports by December 31, 2026 and pipeline gas by September 30, 2027.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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