Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.16
By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) delivered 400 million cubic meters of gas to Iran within swap operations in 2014, a source at SOCAR told Trend on Jan.16.
Gas is delivered to Iran in order to meet the gas demands of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic which is in the blockade due to occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia.
"The volume of gas deliveries to Iran in 2014 is equal to the volumes of 2013," said the source.
Azerbaijan and Iran are connected by the Gazi-Muhammad-Astara-Bind-Biand gas pipeline with the length of over 1,474 kilometers. Some 296.5 kilometers of this pipeline runs through Azerbaijan.
This route is a branch of the Gazakh-Astara-Iran pipeline commissioned in 1971. Three compressor stations were built on its route, namely, in Gazi-Muhammad, Aghdash and Gazakh. The diameter of the pipeline is 1,200 millimeters.
Commercial deliveries of Azerbaijani gas are not carried out. However, Iran has repeatedly expressed intention to purchase up to 5 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan per year.
Edited by CN