BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 15. German companies have contracted approximately 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year from SOCAR, German Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ralf Horlemann said during a media briefing in Baku, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
"There are no direct gas supplies to Germany, as there is no pipeline connection between Azerbaijan and Germany. However, the gas that three German companies have contracted from SOCAR — about 2 billion cubic meters per year — plays an important role in stabilizing the European energy market, as it provides additional supply volumes to the European market," the ambassador said.
Horlemann noted that the German gas companies that have concluded contracts for gas supplies from Azerbaijan are actually carrying out swap deals with other gas importers in Europe.
"First and foremost, this concerns Italy, since about 90% of the Azerbaijani gas imported by the European Union goes there.
These agreements are long-term and have been concluded for approximately ten years. I expect that the supply volumes will continue after this period, and perhaps even increase. However, over the next ten years, I estimate their volume will be around 2 billion cubic meters per year," the diplomat said.
