SOCAR: Gas supply from Russia depends on price
By Aynur Karimova
Gas supply from Russia to Azerbaijan depends on its price, a source in Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR told Trend on November 5.
Earlier Azerbaijan Methanol Company (AzMeCo) had signed a contract with Russian Gazprom Export LLC for gas supply to the methanol plant but had to suspend it since it was unprofitable.
“For this reason and taking into account the ongoing processes on the world market, we are considering how the Russian gas supply would benefit us,” the source noted. “If it is not beneficial, we won’t buy the gas."
The source also added that Azerbaijan had sufficient gas reserves and SOCAR was ready to buy additional volumes of gas only at reasonable prices.
"It is not about refusing Russian gas. Negotiations on this issue are underway," the SOCAR representative stressed.
AzMeCo was planning to purchase up to 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Russia’s Gazprom, according to the earlier signed contract. The natural gas supply was supposed to ensure the guaranteed loading of all facilities at the Garadagh methanol plant.
Earlier, SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev told journalists that the company was not receiving gas from Gazprom, but now, the two sides are discussing the technical details of this issue.
“Currently, negotiations between SOCAR and Gazprom are underway. We are working out the technical details of a contract, but it is as yet unknown exactly when it [the contract] will be signed,” he further noted.
Russian gas is expected to be supplied with a view to injecting it into Azerbaijan’s underground storage facilities in order to use them at full capacity.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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