Azerbaijan, Baku, 6 June / Trend / The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is holding talks with the pipeline monopolist of Russia- Transneft on the possibility of shipping oil from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan via Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline, high ranking SOCAR representative said.
"The pipeline is expected to pump oil from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, who do not have any routes to move toward the West," SOCAR representative said.
According to the inter-governmental agreement between Russia and Azerbaijan, signed on 1996, only Azerbaijani oil with Azerbaijan certificate can be shipped through Russian territory as a transit.
The oil which Azerbaijan pumps through this pipeline can be directed to Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan or Baku-Supsa pipeline; it can also be transported through railway to the Georgian Black Sea port of Kulevi owned by SOCAR.
SOCAR pumps oil at $15.67 per ton via Baku-Novorossiysk, which is produced from onshore and offshore fields by SOCAR out of its own proceeds. The crude oil, produced in the offshore fields by the joint ventures and operational companies with foreign share, is also transported through this pipeline.