Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 6 / Trend E. Ismailov /
The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has finished pumping gas into the Kalmaz underground gas storage facility in Azerbaijan, a SOCAR source said today.
According to the source, works are underway to repair compressors in the gas storage facility.
"The process of pumping gas into the Kalmaz underground gas storage facility has been completed, and currently works are underway to repair the machinery and mechanisms," he said. "This year, gas will not be pumped into underground gas storage facility."
According to the source, the volume of gas in the Kalmaz underground gas storage is approximately 1.52 billion cubic meters, 967.5 million cubic meters of which have been pumped this year. The rest amount remains from last year.
Azerbaijan has two underground gas storage facilities - Kalmaz and Garadagh.
According to the source, the process of pumping gas into the Garadagh underground gas storage facility is not yet completed. Natural gas reserves in the gas reservoir are more than 1.53 billion cubic meters. This year, about 957 million cubic meters have already been pumped into gas storage facility. The rest remains from last year.
"At present, gas is not being pumped into Garadagh, but the pumping will be resumed," the source said.
Last year, SOCAR pumped about 2 billion cubic meters of gas into the country's underground gas storage facilities compared to 1.4 billion cubic meters in 2008.
The gas pumping process for use during autumn and winter ends in October. However, due to favorable weather conditions this year, the process has continued until late November.