Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 14 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
Iran is ready to import any volume of Azerbaijani gas, as well as offer its territory for transit, National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) Managing Director Seyed Reza Kassaeizadeh said in Baku.
"We are ready to import as much gas as the Azerbaijani side is prepared to export to Iran. It would be nice for us if we export and import gas, and we are ready to provide territory for gas transit from other countries, but may also use gas under swap conditions," he added.
According to the company official, Iran has a strong natural gas infrastructure in the north. Using this infrastructure, the country will be able to transport large volumes of gas for its neighbors.
The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and NIGEC signed a short-term contract on Azerbaijani gas supplies to Iran yesterday.
The contract covers supplying Azerbaijani gas to Iran until March-April of 2010, totaling about 100 million cubic meters (1.2 million cubic meters of gas per day). Supplies will be delivered in the northern Iranian regions, which are removed from the main gas fields.
Azerbaijan and Iran are connected with the Gazi-Magomed-Astara-Bind-Biand gas pipeline length 1,474.5 kilometers, including 296.5 kilometers in the territory of Azerbaijan. Its design capacity was 10 billion cubic meters a year, now it is lower. This route is a branch of the Gazakh-Astara-Iran pipeline commissioned in 1971. Three compressor stations, including in Gazi-Magomed, Aghdash and Gazakh, were built on its route. The transmission system is designed to pressure 55 atmospheres. The pipe's diameter is 1200 mm.
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