Azernews.Az

Syria will begin importing natural gas from Azerbaijan in mid-2011, according to the country’s Oil Minister Sufian Allaw.
He told a meeting of the inter-governmental commission in Baku on Tuesday that the process of linking pipelines in Syria and Turkey was underway, and the deliveries of Azerbaijan’s gas would start after the work has been completed.
Allaw said that during the Syrian delegation’s visit to Baku talks will be held with Azerbaijan’s state energy firm SOCAR on the price of gas and transportation costs.
According to the protocol signed by the two countries in early March, the South Caucasus republic is to export 1-1.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Syria.
The Syrian minister noted that his country was also interested in the transit of Azerbaijani gas. According to him, options include transporting fuel through Syria to other Arab countries and from the Mediterranean coasts to Europe.
Azerbaijani gas is currently being delivered to Turkey through the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) pipeline that crosses Georgia.
Azerbaijan produces most of its gas from the giant Shahdaniz field in the Caspian Sea, which holds estimated reserves of 2 trillion cubic meters. During Phase 2 of Shahdaniz development, scheduled to begin in 2012-2013, gas exports are planned to a number of countries, including European markets.
Minister Allaw, who co-chairs the Syria-Azerbaijan inter-governmental commission, is in Baku to attend its first meeting, which centers on issues pertaining to economic, cultural and scientific collaboration between the two countries.
Another commission co-chair, Azerbaijan’s Agriculture Minister Ismat Abbasov said that upon completion of the Azerbaijani and Syrian experts’ work on Wednesday, a protocol will be signed covering a variety of fields, including trade and economics, agriculture, industry and energy, alternate and renewable sources of energy, ICT, education, science, healthcare, tourism, and transport.
Allaw said Syria was attaching great importance to its cooperation with Azerbaijan, voicing confidence that bilateral relations would further expand after the protocol signing.
The Syrian minister said he would submit to Azerbaijan a list of agricultural goods that Syria is seeking to export to the South Caucasus republic.
Abbasov, for his part, said Azerbaijan intends to sell fruits and vegetables as well as melons to Syria.*