Azerbaijan May Benefit from the Russia-Ukraine Crisis | EurasiaNet.org:
"Energy-rich Azerbaijan could emerge as a winner in the international crisis over Crimea, if the West pushes away from Russia as a natural-gas supplier, Azerbaijani analysts say. Diplomatic sensitivities, namely a desire in Baku not to rile Russia, means that any Azerbaijani effort to capitalize on the crisis will take place behind the scenes.
In contemplating responses to Russia’s land grab in Crimea, European Union members have wrestled with a dilemma rooted in their dependency on Russian natural gas imports. Any EU economic sanctions on Russia could end up disrupting those gas supplies. And even if the Crimea crisis is somehow settled, lingering tension between Ukraine and Russia could impact EU gas imports, given that roughly a third of those Russian imports traverse Ukrainian territory.
Uncertainty over Russian supplies opens a door for Azerbaijan, which long has harbored European ambitions. In 2013, it produced 29 billion cubic meters of gas, roughly 62 percent of which is tradable gas, according to Energy Minister Natig Aliyev; it expects to increase that number by 2 billion cubic meters in 2014."
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