Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan’s choice on a gas export route will depend on proposed transportation fees, head of the state energy firm Socar has said.

Rovnag Abdullayev told the press that these fees are "the main issue in the gas business", and once it has been resolved, Azerbaijan will begin negotiating with buyers.

The Socar head said Azerbaijan is negotiating transportation fees with the participants of Nabucco and other projects to pass a decision on a route for gas supplies, adding that it will be known by October which of the projects had been chosen.

"We are trying to make sure that as early as by October 1 the tariffs have been determined and our choice has been made," Abdullayev said.

Abdullayev said earlier that Azerbaijan could export its gas to European markets by routes other than the Nabucco pipeline that offer better terms. "Anything can happen, there are a lot of projects and we can’t set any of them aside," he said.

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 of gas. According to projections, production will be brought up to 25 billion cubic meters per year under the second stage of Shahdaniz development, which is expected to produce first gas in 2017.