(Bloomberg) --
Azerbaijan can boost natural gas exports to Europe but needs to secure new sales contracts first, said President Ilham Aliyev.
If talks started now, Azerbaijan would be ready to increase exports as soon as next winter, Aliyev said in an interview with Spain's EFE news service, the text of which was posted on the Azeri leader's website on Saturday.
Azerbaijan in December started shipping gas to the EU, including Italy and Greece, via the U.S.-backed Southern Gas Corridor, which connects the Caspian Sea nation with Europe via Georgia and Turkey.
The EU was the second-largest importer of Azeri natural gas in the first seven months of 2021, buying almost 4 billion cubic meters in the period, according to a report by the the State Statistics Committee in Baku.
Exports to Europe are expected to increase to 10 billion cubic meters a year from 2022, according to agreements signed in 2013. Most of the country's gas production comes from the BP Plc-led Shah Deniz deposit in the Caspian Sea.
Aliyev said Azeri natural gas was “cheaper” than that of other suppliers, and also comes from a new source via a new route. Azerbaijan's proven reserves of the fuel are 2.6 trillion cubic meters, big enough to meet domestic demand and to export for “at least 100 years,” the president said.
Azerbaijan is also heavily investing in renewable energy to save more natural gas for export, Aliyev said.
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