Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 29
By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:
Georgia is not in talks on the purchase of Iranian gas for now because of high prices, Deputy Prime Minister and Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze told Trend in Baku Feb. 29.
Kaladze is participating in the second Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Meeting.
The energy ministers and representatives of various organizations from the Southern Gas Corridor member-states, including vice-president of the European Commission for Energy Union, are participating in the meeting as well.
Three plenary sessions and a round table will be held as part of the meeting.
"Transportation of Iranian gas to Georgia is possible via two ways, through the territory of Azerbaijan or Armenia, however, the Iranian gas prices are not competitive, so the issue on the purchase of Iranian gas can only be discussed in the future," Kaladze said.
In the future, transportation of Iranian gas will be possible through the territory of Azerbaijan, the minister said.
Alireza Kameli, the head of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC), said after meeting Kaladze in Tehran on Feb. 16 that Iran is considering a plan to export 200 million cubic meters of gas to Georgia in a course of seven months.
He further said that Tehran and Tbilisi would consider signing a long-term deal, if they find a short-term gas deal economically justified.
Iran plans to increase gas production to 1.1 billion cubic meters per day by 2018.
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