BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 6. The German company VNG AG is ready to increase natural gas supply volumes from Azerbaijan and extend the relevant contract to a term of 15–20 years, Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and Head of VNG AG’s representative office, Oliver Hill, told Trend in an exclusive interview on Tuesday on the sidelines of the German-Azerbaijani Connectivity Conference in Baku.
"We began gas supplies earlier this year and would like to increase the volumes. We are also open to extending the contract in terms of duration. We are ready to negotiate contracts spanning 15–20 years, as well as volumes higher than current levels," he said.
According to him, the cooperation agreement between VNG AG and SOCAR provides for the initiation of negotiations regarding increased supply volumes and contract extension.
"It depends largely on Azerbaijan. We are ready to increase volumes," Hill noted.
He pointed out that one possible way to boost Azerbaijan's export potential could be to utilize renewable energy sources domestically to replace a portion of the natural gas currently used for internal needs.
"The idea is to potentially replace some of the gas used domestically with renewable energy sources, because it is easier to supply gas to Europe than renewable energy," the VNG AG representative said.
Hill also reported that following the signing of the cooperation agreement between VNG AG and SOCAR about a week ago, the parties are now proceeding to form working groups.
"We are currently establishing working groups between SOCAR and VNG AG for each of these four areas; we will then meet regularly to identify and explore opportunities regarding these matters," he said. According to him, the agreement provides for cooperation on strengthening the Southern Gas Corridor and ensuring long-term gas supplies, meeting EU requirements regarding methane emissions regulations, and developing technologies related to hydrogen and its derivatives, including ammonia, synthetic methane, and e-fuels.
