BAKU, June 03. /ITAR-TASS/. Azerbaijan needs new markets for export of its gas, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told the opening of the 21st International Caspian Oil and Gas exhibition here on Tuesday.

In his words, “Azerbaijan’s huge gas potential cannot be limited only by the regional market.” Already seven year after the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, the country delivers its gas to the regional market, he said. “Azerbaijan has got rich gas fields, which was confirmed by the development of the Shah Deniz field. Shah Deniz is one of the world’s largest gas fields. Its reserves are at least 50% of our gas potential,” the Azerbaijani president said.

Total reserves of such offshore deposits as Shah Deniz, Umid and Absheron are at least 2.5 trillion cubic metres, he said. “Azerbaijan needs large markets with the demand in our gas,” Aliyev added.

More than 400 companies from 29 countries, including Russia, are taking part in the traditional exhibition entitled, Caspian Oil and Gas, that opened in Baku on Tuesday. Alongside with separate companies Russia is represented by the national pavilion.