Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 6 / Trend /
Baku today hosts a meeting of the working group on amendments to an agreement on the Azerbaijani oil transportation through Russia, dated Jan.18, 1996, spokesman for the Industry and Energy Ministry Azer Mensimli said on Tuesday.
Azerbaijani Industry and Energy Minister Natig Aliyev received a Russian delegation led by Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky. The Russian delegation also includes representatives of Transneft and Inter RAO. The Azerbaijani side is represented by representatives of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and Azerenergy (production and distribution of electricity).
The parties discuss oil volumes and tariffs, as well as cooperation in the electricity sector.
Mensimli said the outcome of the talks is expected to be positive. Following this, they will be initialed and the agreement will be amended after passing through the internal procedures.
The bilateral Russian-Azerbaijani inter-governmental agreement on the transit of Azerbaijani oil via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline was signed in 1996. It provides for transportation of 5 million tons of oil a year at the rate of $15.67 per one ton of transited oil.
SOCAR transships its own oil, as well as oil of joint ventures and operating companies operating in Azerbaijan's onshore fields, through Novorossiysk.
In 2012, SOCAR plans to pump 1.7 million tons of oil to the Baku-Novorossiysk compared to 2 million tons in 2010. The decline in oil pumping is linked with the increased consumption of petroleum products within the country, and the growth of processing at local refineries.
In 2008, SOCAR exported 1.2 million tons of oil via the Baku-Novorossiysk compared to 1.2 million tons of oil in 2007, which is the same in 2006. In 2005, the figure was 1.6 million tons.
Until late 2007, AIOC was the operator of Baku-Novorossiysk. The structure then transferred these functions to SOCAR.