Turkey and several European countries have regained access to gas from Shah Deniz Alpha, as the operator of the Caspian Shah Deniz field has resumed operations on this production platform after resolving issues that caused a force majeure situation from January 6–18.
According to Botas, Turkey resumed receiving gas from Azerbaijan on January 19. Earlier, to address the deficit caused by technical problems on one of Shah Deniz's subsea pipelines, the Turkish state importer Botas purchased seven shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for delivery to Turkey between January and March 2025. Traders attributed these purchases partly to the need to compensate for gas shortfalls from Azerbaijan in January.
It should be noted that last year Azerbaijan exported 9.9 billion cubic meters of gas from Shah Deniz to Turkey, compared to 9.5 billion cubic meters in 2023.
"Turkey’s actions to purchase additional LNG volumes helped Bulgaria's Bulgargaz, among others, bridge the gap in Azerbaijani gas supplies caused by the force majeure situation at Shah Deniz in January," an expert familiar with the matter told Turan.
According to the European gas distribution network ENTSOG, as of January 19, the flow of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria was restored via Turkey, Greece, and the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector (IGB) after a 12-day interruption. Gas supplies were also adjusted for Serbia, which is connected to Bulgaria through the Bulgaria-Serbia Interconnector (IBS).
BP announced on the evening of January 18 that the Shah Deniz Alpha production platform had been brought back online following repairs to the pipeline transporting condensate from the platform to the Sangachal terminal in the Garadagh district of Baku.
"During the coming week, production at Shah Deniz is expected to return to its previous level of approximately 74 million cubic meters per day. Earlier, due to technical issues and the operation of only one platform, Shah Deniz Bravo, production was at 40–48 million cubic meters per day," a source reported.
Shah Deniz has been producing gas and condensate since December 2006. With reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters, this flagship field of Azerbaijan supplies gas to around ten countries worldwide to varying extents.
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