A highly touted deal between Baku and Brussels was meant to wean Europe off Russian gas. But is Azerbaijan now importing Russian gas itself in order to meet its obligations to Europe?
BP, which operates the pipeline to Georgia's Black Sea coast, says the shutdown is temporary and that in the meantime all oil exports are being rerouted through Turkey.
President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Moscow days ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine appears to have resulted in an agreement not to compete with one another on gas exports.
As a potential Russian gas crisis looms, Azerbaijan has promised to supply more gas to Europe "in case of emergency.” But it won’t be the answer to the crisis.
The announced deals could be significant, and come shortly after the two sides patched up a period of serious political tensions. But many details remain unclear.
In spite of ascendant political ties between the two allies, the apparent temporary nature of the new agreement speaks to their differing economic priorities.
The country has developed rapidly based on oil and gas revenues. But a new report says Azerbaijan risks potential shocks if it continues to depend so heavily on hydrocarbons.
While the hydrocarbon field that Baku and Ashgabat will jointly develop isn’t itself a gamechanger, it could finally open up Turkmenistan’s massive gas reserves for European markets.