Azernews.Az

Gas from resource-rich Azerbaijan has turned into a dominating source of supplies to neighboring Georgia.
The withdrawal of Russia from the South Caucasus republic's market came as no surprise, in particular, given that the price for Russian gas was nearly twice above that offered by Azerbaijan. The disparity in prices certainly did not go down well with Baku, which led to the suspension of Azeri gas supplies on January 6. Talks are currently under way on signing a new agreement to resume the deliveries.
The government reportedly plans to raise the price from the current $120 to $170-180 per 1,000 cubic meters for this year. Georgian officials are due in Baku to discuss the issue, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizada told the press Sunday in Tbilisi where he attended the inauguration of the new Georgian president.
He said the price depended not only on the Azerbaijani government and the volume of gas produced in the country but also the positions of companies selling gas.
"It would be good if the issue of increasing gas supplies to Georgia is addressed by these companies as well," Rasizada said.
Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said after meeting his Azerbaijani counterpart that there were no problems with gas imports.
"We have been buying gas from Azerbaijan and will keep doing that," he said but added that the price for gas to be supplied in 2008 should be reconsidered.
The Georgian premier called on local media not to blow the issue out of proportion, saying he believed the two countries would reach agreement to that end.
Georgia has been meeting its domestic demand on account of Azeri gas since last year. In addition to the gas produced from Azerbaijan's biggest offshore field Shahdaniz, the country was buying a million cubic meters of gas extracted by the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR.