Azerbaijan exported 1.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas worth $288.5 million to Europe in the first five months of 2021, the State Customs Committee has reported.

Of the total volume of exported natural gas, Italy accounted for 1.1 billion cubic meters worth $243.6 million. Some 127.8 million cubic meters of natural gas worth $32.7 million were exported to Greece and 91.9 million cubic meters worth $12.1 million to Bulgaria.

It should be noted that during the reported period, Azerbaijan exported a total of 9.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas worth $1.3 billion.

Moreover, Turkey accounted for 5.8 billion cubic meters of the total volume of exported natural gas, worth $804.6 million.

In the meantime, 1.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas worth $239.2 million were exported to Georgia during the period of January-May 2021.

Azerbaijan started commercial gas supplies to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline on December 31, 2020. Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov earlier said that the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, as another energy link connecting Azerbaijan with Europe, will strengthen Azerbaijan's strategic role in energy security, cooperation and sustainable development.

The pipeline is supplied by natural gas from the second stage of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field development in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea through the South Caucasus Pipeline and TANAP. The initial capacity of the pipeline is about 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, with the option to expand the capacity up to 20 billion cubic meters.

The Southern Gas Corridor is an initiative of the European Commission for a natural gas supply route from Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe. The route from Azerbaijan to Europe consists of the South Caucasus Pipeline, the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.