Azernews.Az

The agreement between Azerbaijan and Turkey on transporting Azerbaijani gas to Turkey and further to Europe is due to be signed in Baku in May, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz was quoted by the local media as saying.
According to him, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will attend the signing ceremony.
Yildiz added that the two countries have already agreed upon all issues involved.
The anticipated agreement will put an end to the long-standing differences on gas supplies between Baku and Ankara. Discussions focused on the price of gas exported to Turkey during Phase 1 of developing Azerbaijan’s biggest gas field Shahdaniz; the price and volume of gas to be sold to Turkey during Phase 2; and the transit of fuel to Europe.
Under the previous agreement, the price of Azerbaijani gas sold to Turkey is $120 per 1,000 cubic meters -- considerably lower than those in world markets. According to the gas supply contract concluded by Shahdaniz partners with Turkey, the price is to be reconsidered a year after the start of gas deliveries, therefore, the new price should have gone into effect on April 15, 2008. Also, Baku sought to transport its gas produced during Phase 2 to Europe through Turkey and sell it for market-level prices, while Ankara offered to buy Azerbaijani gas and then sell it to European consumers on its own. This had caused a long-standing dispute between the two countries and diminished prospects for the Nabucco pipeline project, which aims to pump gas from the Caspian and Central Asia regions to energy-thirsty European markets.*