BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 27. Natural gas production in Azerbaijan has increased from January through May 2026.
This was announced in the report by the State Statistics Committee.
According to the report, 20.93 billion cubic meters of natural gas were produced in the country in the first 5 months of this year, reflecting a growth of 24.4 million cubic meters, or 0.12%, compared to the same period last year (20.91 billion cubic meters).
During the reporting period, 16.3 billion cubic meters of marketable natural gas were produced, which is 112.4 million cubic meters, or 0.7%, more than in the corresponding period of last year (16.19 billion cubic meters).
Overall, the total value of production in Azerbaijan's mining industry amounted to 16.7 billion manat ($9.82 billion), down 0.4% compared to the same period of the previous year.
In addition, according to the State Customs Committee, Azerbaijan exported 10.38 billion cubic meters of natural gas (in gaseous form) worth $3.34 billion in the first five months of this year.
Compared to the same period last year, the value of natural gas exports decreased by $489.8 million, or 12.8%, while export volume increased by 110.2 million cubic meters, or 1.1%.
Against the backdrop of increasing gas production, Azerbaijan is further strengthening its position as a reliable supplier in international energy markets. In short, the geography of Azerbaijan's natural gas exports continues to expand.
President Ilham Aliyev said at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group that Azerbaijan currently exports natural gas to 16 countries.
"Today Azerbaijan is number one from the point of view of the geography of gas pipeline supply. We supply natural gas to 16 countries, and their number is growing year after year and will continue to grow. Oil supplies cover even more countries, and this is all to the benefit of producers, transit countries, and consumers.
So, a kind of teamwork, which has been created, really is unique in the sense of the complexity of the implementation of projects from the point of view of financing, the point of view of terrain, the point of view of different political obstacles, which we had in front of us," the head of state emphasized.
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said at the ministerial plenary session on "International Cooperation for a Sustainable and Diversified Energy Future" held as part of the Baku Energy Week that last year, Azerbaijan's share in the total volume of gas imported via pipeline to the European Union amounted to 8.1%.
According to him, today the strategic importance of Azerbaijan is determined not by the volume of energy it produces, but by how effectively it can connect regions and markets.
"Azerbaijan exports oil to more than 20 countries, and the number of countries purchasing Azerbaijani natural gas has reached 16, which puts our country among the world leaders in terms of the geographical scope of pipeline gas exports," the minister said.
Shahbazov noted that last year, Azerbaijan accounted for 8.1 percent of the European Union's pipeline gas imports.
"Last year and the first four months of this year, Azerbaijan exported 16.7 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe, 12.8 billion cubic meters to Türkiye, 3.3 billion cubic meters to Georgia, and 800 million cubic meters to Syria," he added.
