Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.18
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) plans to maintain the current volume of gas export to Georgia and Iran in 2015, a source at SOCAR told Trend on Feb.18.
"Around 5 million cubic meters of gas is exported to Georgia per day, while we daily deliver 1.2 million cubic meters of gas to Iran," said the source.
SOCAR exported 2.15 billion cubic meters of gas to Georgia in 2014, which is by 248.1 million cubic meters (10.5 percent) more than in 2013.
SOCAR delivers its own gas to Georgia via a pipeline which runs through Azerbaijan's Gazakh district. The gas pumping capacity via this pipeline nears 3 billion cubic meters per year.
The State Oil Company manages gas distribution networks in Georgia's various regions through the SOCAR Georgia Gas company.
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.
Around 400 million cubic meters of gas was delivered from Azerbaijan to Iran to meet the demands of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in 2014 and 2013 each.
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 SI
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