Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend S.Aliyev / It is not necessary to conclude a new agreement between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the Russian company Transneft for SOCAR to gain operator rights of the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline, a senior official at SOCAR said.
The agreement, signed between Transneft and Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), indicates that AIOC will pass operator rights to SOCAR. A new agreement with Transneft is only necessary should new changes be made to the signed document.
In mid-October the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) plans to finalize unification issues on obtaining control of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export oil pipeline.
The Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), which operates the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline with the capacity of 5mln tons, passed on exploitation in 1997 giving preference to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) main export oil pipeline with the capacity of 50mln tons. The BTC is used for the export of light oil produced by the AIOC from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields.
Despite the AIOC having control of the Baku-Novorossiysk since 1997, SOCAR also used this pipeline for pumping oil produced in its fields, as well as crude produced by offshore operating companies with foreign capital.
In 2008, SOCAR plans to pump approximately 1mln tons of oil via this pipeline.
"In 2008, oil produced by offshore joint ventures and operating companies will be pumped via this pipeline. SOCAR will partially pump its oil via this route," he said.