EU countries spent 15.6 bln euros on buying gas from Azerbaijan in 2022 - Eurostat

BAKU. March 22 (Interfax) - European Union countries, namely Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria, imported natural gas worth 15,598,852,000 euros from Azerbaijan in 2022, the EU statistical office (Eurostat) said in its report seen by Interfax.

In 2021, Azerbaijan exported natural gas worth 3,893,233,000 euros to EU countries, it said.

Hence, EU countries' expenditures on buying gas from Azerbaijan roughly quadrupled between 2021 and 2022.

In particular, Italy spent 13,253,515,000 euros on buying gas from Azerbaijan in 2022 (about 290% more than in 2021), Greece 1,962,325,000 euros (about 320% more), and Bulgaria 383,011,000 euros (nearly 700% more).

As reported earlier, Azerbaijan increased gas exports by 18% to 22.3 billion cubic meters in 2022, with 11.4 billion cubic meters of this gas shipped to Europe (+39%).

In 2023, Azerbaijan plans to export over 24 billion cubic meters of gas, including at least 12 billion cubic meters to Europe.

The European countries currently buying gas from Azerbaijan are Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania.