Official figures indicate that Azerbaijan almost quadrupled gas shipments from its enormous Shah Deniz offshore source to Turkey, Georgia, and Europe in 2021, as the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) continues to assist the country increase its part of the market previously controlled by Russia.

According to statistics issued by the State Customs Committee, gas exports from Shah Deniz totalled 17.618 billion cubic metres (bcm) last year, jumping 43.6% from the previous year.

Since 2006, the BP-led consortium constructing the Shah Deniz project in Azerbaijan has been pumping gas from the offshore field's first phase, providing more than 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year through the South Caucasus Pipeline to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.

The second phase began production in 2018, increasing 16 billion cubic meters of gas production capacity to the overall capacity of 26 billion cubic meters.

Azerbaijan began selling commercial natural gas to Europe with its $40 billion Southern Gas Route in December 2020, when the last section of the corridor, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), became operational. The initiative aims to lessen Europe's reliance on Russian natural gas supplies, which account for 34% of the continent's gas market.

TAP links to the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border near Kipoi, and then travels via Greece, Albania, and the Adriatic Sea before arriving on Italy's southern shore.

The TAP is used to transport gas to Europe. The TANAP and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines transport goods to Turkey.

Azerbaijan began producing natural gas from a fifth well on the Shah Deniz II field's north edge last year. The partnership commenced gas production at the southeast side of the field in July, which includes four wells, two new flowlines, and several subsea infrastructures. In the third quarter of 2021, the flank attained full production rates. For the first time, the Shah Deniz Bravo platform's daily production rates surpassed those of the Shah Deniz Alpha platform. The Shah Deniz Alpha and Bravo sites generated roughly 16 billion cubic meters of gas and 3 million tonnes (24 million barrels) of condensate in the first three quarters of the year.

Azerbaijan wants to provide 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year to the European market, with 8 billion cubic meters going to Italy and a combined 2 billion cubic meters going to Greece and Bulgaria. This year, the nation expects to sell 5 billion cubic meters to Europe and nearly 12 billion cubic meters to Turkey.