Azernews.Az

BAKU – Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Debnat Shaw said Tuesday that his country was interested in long-term oil supplies from Azerbaijan.

Mr. Shaw told a news briefing that Indian refineries are interested in signing long-term contracts for the purchase of Azeri oil similar to ones they have concluded with Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

He said the amount of oil to be purchased would depend on the outcome of talks with Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR.

"We have expressed our interest to the government of Azerbaijan and are looking forward to receiving a positive response, which would up the amount of oil transit to India," Mr. Shaw said.

According to the ambassador, oil constitutes India’s main export product from Azerbaijan.

India has been buying Azeri oil since the launch of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which exports oil from the Caspian Sea to world markets via Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The amount of Azeri oil supplies has decreased in recent years.

According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and India fell from $2bn in 2008 to $322 million in 2009, of which Azeri exports made up 267mln, while the imports of Indian goods - $55mln.

During the five months of 2010, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $261mln.

The Indian ambassador expressed hope that an increase of Azeri oil supplies would boost bilateral trade.