Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 27 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
Azerbaijan increased gas supplies to Turkey to 16 million cubic meters per day this week, an inside source at the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) told Trend. The daily volume of gas supplies to Turkey was previously around 13-14 million cubic meters.
"Gas supplies to Turkey increased and now the figure is about 16 million cubic meters per day," the source said.
An explosion rocked a pipeline transporting gas from Iran to Turkey on Tuesday in Eleshkirt in the Turkish province of Agri. As a result, Iranian gas supplies to Turkey were suspended. Supplies will resume in 7-8 days, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said.
Azerbaijan supplies gas to Turkey under a contract on the Shah Deniz offshore gas condensate field. Based on the contract, Turkey receives an annual 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas during the field's first stage. The field's total reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters.
The contract to develop Shah Deniz was signed on June 4, 1996. Participants to the agreement are: BP (operator) - 25.5 percent, Statoil Hydro - 25.5 percent, NICO - 10 percent, Total - 10 percent, LukAgip - 10 percent, TPAO - 9 percent, and SOCAR - 10 percent.
Gas produced at Shah Deniz is transported to Turkey via the South Caucasus Pipeline. Its length is over 700 kilometers. The pipeline's power flow is more than 20 billion cubic meters of gas per year.