Azerbaijan signs short-term deal on gas supplies to Iran
Azerbaijan and Iran signed an agreement in Baku on Wednesday on
supplying Azerbaijani gas to the neighboring country in
January-April 2010.
Under the agreement, inked by Azerbaijan’s state energy firm SOCAR and National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC), the South Caucasus republic will deliver 1.2 million cubic meters of gas a day to Iran. This, overall deliveries from Azerbaijan will be around 120 million cubic meters.
SOCAR’s President Rovnag Abdullayev said the price of gas will be set according to world prices for oil, gasoline and diesel fuel. Upon completion of the 100 day period covered by the contract, the sides plan to sign a long-term supply deal on further gas deliveries to Iran.
"We expect to sign that agreement this summer. Under the long-term agreement, the volume of transported gas will be increased to 3-5 million cubic meters per day this fall," Abdullayev said.
NIGEC managing director Seyyed Reza Kassaizadeh, in turn, said his country is ready to receive any volume of Azerbaijani gas.
SOCAR and NIGEC signed a memorandum last November on supplying 500 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas to Iran’s northern regions in 2010.
Further, Abdullayev said Azerbaijan is expected to strike a common ground on gas supplies with Turkey in the coming days. Baku is seeking to increase the price of gas it sells to this country and is negotiating the issue with Ankara.
According to Abdullayev, Azerbaijan is already exporting its gas in all directions. Moreover, SOCAR will find more fuel available for export if the Nabucco pipeline project, which aims to pump gas from the Caspian and Central Asia regions to energy-thirsty European markets, becomes operational.
Azerbaijan produces most of its gas from the giant Shahdaniz field in the Caspian Sea, which holds estimated reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters.*
Under the agreement, inked by Azerbaijan’s state energy firm SOCAR and National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC), the South Caucasus republic will deliver 1.2 million cubic meters of gas a day to Iran. This, overall deliveries from Azerbaijan will be around 120 million cubic meters.
SOCAR’s President Rovnag Abdullayev said the price of gas will be set according to world prices for oil, gasoline and diesel fuel. Upon completion of the 100 day period covered by the contract, the sides plan to sign a long-term supply deal on further gas deliveries to Iran.
"We expect to sign that agreement this summer. Under the long-term agreement, the volume of transported gas will be increased to 3-5 million cubic meters per day this fall," Abdullayev said.
NIGEC managing director Seyyed Reza Kassaizadeh, in turn, said his country is ready to receive any volume of Azerbaijani gas.
SOCAR and NIGEC signed a memorandum last November on supplying 500 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas to Iran’s northern regions in 2010.
Further, Abdullayev said Azerbaijan is expected to strike a common ground on gas supplies with Turkey in the coming days. Baku is seeking to increase the price of gas it sells to this country and is negotiating the issue with Ankara.
According to Abdullayev, Azerbaijan is already exporting its gas in all directions. Moreover, SOCAR will find more fuel available for export if the Nabucco pipeline project, which aims to pump gas from the Caspian and Central Asia regions to energy-thirsty European markets, becomes operational.
Azerbaijan produces most of its gas from the giant Shahdaniz field in the Caspian Sea, which holds estimated reserves of 1.2 trillion cubic meters.*
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