Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 17 /Trend, E. Ismailov/
Operation of the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline in reverse mode can be cost-effective, the head of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Rovnag Abdullayev told journalists on Monday.
According to Abdullayev, each side has its own interests and protects them, and each of the variants of the pipeline's operation has a right to exist.
"Currently, SOCAR and Rosneft specialists are working together to evaluate the economic plausibility of the operation of pipeline in the reverse mode. I believe this variant may be an effective option," Abdullayev said.
Earlier SOCAR and Rosneft signed an agreement on cooperation and the basic terms of oil supply.
Abdullayev earlier said that, currently SOCAR and Rosneft are holding talks on the transportation of Urals oil in the amount of five million tons per year through the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline in the reverse mode. In case of success in the talks and economic reasonability of operations under consideration, some part of the oil will be processed in Azerbaijan, and some part will be delivered via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and shipped from Ceyhan terminal on the Mediterranean Sea. Evaluation of the effectiveness and holding talks are planned to be completed by late 2013.
SOCAR set the terms before Rosneft, and according to them the delivery through the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline will be carried out in the reverse mode of oil with less than one percent of sulfur content, which will not affect the quality of the oil, transported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, and will allow to provide the shipping of Azeri Light from the terminal in Ceyhan.
According to the agreement in case of the realization of the whole program, the income will be distributed among the sides equally.
Presently, Azerbaijani oil is delivered via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline, but in May, the Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree to terminate the agreement with Azerbaijan on the transit of Azerbaijani oil via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline.