Iran yet to receive its share of Shahdaniz condensate
Iran has not yet received its share in the division
of condensate among partners in the project on developing
Azerbaijan`s biggest gas field, Shahdaniz, according to the
vice-president of the Azerbaijani state energy firm SOCAR.
Davud Mammadov explained this by the lack of the technical ability to transport condensate. Thus, since Iran has not concluded an agreement on transporting fuel with the shareholders of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline pumping Caspian oil to world markets, the NIKO company, which holds a 10% stake in the consortium, is unable to pump its share of condensate to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. For this reason, SOCAR has, so far, been engaged in selling Iran`s condensate, and as a result Azerbaijan now owes Iran about 1.2 million tons. Baku and Tehran are currently in talks on delivering this condensate.
The SOCAR vice-president said that, most likely, the Azerbaijani energy firm would market the same volume of oil in Ceyhan and thus settle the debt with the Iranian side, adding that this option is agreeable to Tehran, as well.
The Shahdaniz field began production in 2006. The field holds estimated reserves of 1.5 trillion cubic meters of gas. Azerbaijan plans to produce 25-27 billion cu. m. of gas in 2009, including 9bn from Shahdaniz.
Davud Mammadov explained this by the lack of the technical ability to transport condensate. Thus, since Iran has not concluded an agreement on transporting fuel with the shareholders of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline pumping Caspian oil to world markets, the NIKO company, which holds a 10% stake in the consortium, is unable to pump its share of condensate to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. For this reason, SOCAR has, so far, been engaged in selling Iran`s condensate, and as a result Azerbaijan now owes Iran about 1.2 million tons. Baku and Tehran are currently in talks on delivering this condensate.
The SOCAR vice-president said that, most likely, the Azerbaijani energy firm would market the same volume of oil in Ceyhan and thus settle the debt with the Iranian side, adding that this option is agreeable to Tehran, as well.
The Shahdaniz field began production in 2006. The field holds estimated reserves of 1.5 trillion cubic meters of gas. Azerbaijan plans to produce 25-27 billion cu. m. of gas in 2009, including 9bn from Shahdaniz.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
Subscribe
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!