The Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan will offer additional capacities to Europe

The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is the European part of the Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan, will offer additional capacities to European companies under long-term contracts starting next year.

"In fact, the first level of TAP capacity expansion, which will increase long-term capacity by 1.2 billion cubic meters from the beginning of 2026, is already being overcome, and this will allow us to do even more. This could pave the way for further capacity expansion through market tests, depending on demand and the evolution of Europe's energy landscape," said Luca Schieppati, Managing Director of TAP.

The design capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor to Europe was estimated at 10 billion cubic meters. However, for several years now, the European part has been operating at over-design capacity. It serves more than 11 billion cubic meters. Only additional volumes are sold on the spot market, and not under long-term contracts. Obviously, now they want to sell additional gas supplies for a long time.

Baku has repeatedly stated that the supply capacity to Europe can be increased to 20 billion cubic meters. However, for this it is necessary to invest in expanding the capacity of the gas pipeline: the laid gas pipeline is already designed for 20 billion cubic meters, but additional compressor stations are required to maintain pressure.

In addition, the issue of where Azerbaijan will get more gas has not been resolved. The new Absheron project will add up to 4 billion cubic meters, while consumption is growing in the country itself.

As EADaily reported, gas supplies via the Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan to Europe decreased in January-August. On the one hand, the country's fuel production is limited. On the other hand, there were failures in the Caspian Sea, and the supplies themselves depend on orders from European companies.