IN LONDON: The Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen visited Baku earlier this week to strengthen and deepen the energy partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan.
The European Union and Azerbaijan cooperate under a memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed in 2022, on a strategic partnership in the field of energy. The partnership aims to increase gas supply from Azerbaijan to the EU via the Southern Gas Corridor – a 3,500km pipeline network that transports natural gas from the Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea to Europe.
As part of the partnership, both nations track and reduce methane emissions. From 2021 to 2024, gas supplies have increased by more than 40% and may continue to increase by the end of the current decade with the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor.
The partnership involves promoting energy efficiency gains and developing renewable energy sources, particularly offshore wind energy in the Caspian Sea. The WindEurope business federation and the Azerbaijani Renewable Energy Agency adopted a MoU to this effect on 1 March 2024.
Jørgensen is co-chairing the 12th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial meeting and the fourth Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial meeting with Parviz Shabazov, Minister for Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The annual meetings gather representatives from partner governments, institutions and companies, to take stock of and make progress on the joint commitments to their strategic, mutually beneficial energy partnership.
In Baku, the commissioner will also hold bilateral meetings with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev, the Minister for Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, as well as with the Minister for Energy of the Republic of Moldova, Dorin Junghietu.
Azerbaijan plays a key role in the EU’s efforts to diversify away from Russian fossil fuels. Gas imports through the Southern Gas Corridor contribute to a more diversified, reliable and secure gas supply in Europe, in line with the goals of REPowerEU.
The nation’s renewable energy resources present an opportunity for European companies and Azerbaijan’s economic growth.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Unsplash
