BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 17. Azerbaijan
exported $4.882 billion worth of 14.428 billion cubic meters of
natural gas in gaseous form in January-July this year, according to
the State Customs Committee.


The value of natural gas exports decreased by $386.7 million, or
7.3%, compared with the same period last year, while the volume
increased by 18.019 million tons, or 0.1%, the committee said.


Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Annual Meetings of
the Islamic Development Bank Group, President Ilham Aliyev said
Azerbaijan currently exports natural gas to 16 countries.


"With respect to the supply of natural gas, 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 said.


Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said during a
ministerial plenary session titled "International Cooperation for a
Sustainable and Diversified Energy Future," held as part of Baku
Energy Week, that Azerbaijan accounted for 8.1% of total pipeline
gas imports by the European Union last year.







He said Azerbaijan's strategic importance today 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, while the
number of countries buying Azerbaijani natural gas has reached 16,
placing our country among the world leaders in terms of the
geographic reach of pipeline gas exports," the minister said.


Shahbazov noted that Azerbaijan accounted for 8.1% of the
European Union's pipeline gas imports last year.


"Last year and during 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.


One thing to double-check: the source says natural gas export
volume rose by 18.019 million tons (0.1%), which doesn't appear
consistent with the stated 14.428 billion cubic meters figure. If
this is for publication, I'd verify that number against the
original State Customs Committee data rather than silently
correcting it.