Georgia, Tbilisi/ Trend corr. N. Kirtskhalia/ Vano Mtvralshvili, the President of the Georgian Importers, Exporters, Producers, and Oil Products Consumers Union, has stated during today's briefing that Azerbaijan has completely resumed its gasoline export to Georgia, Trend Correspondent to Tbilisi reports.
According to him, from now on, SOCAR Georgia Petroleum (a SOCAR's subsidiary) will be engaged in Azerbaijan's exporting its gasoline to Georgia. Mtvralashvili noted that from 1 September, the Azerbaijani export to Georgia was carried out in limited quantities. "It was triggered by the fact that Azerbaijan, repudiating importing Russian gas, had to concentrate all its domestic oil resources to produce mazut, which caused a reduction in the production and export of petrol and other oil refined products," noted Mtvralashvili.
A source in SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) explained to Trend that SOCAR Georgia Petroleum had won a SOCAR tender to supply Azerbaijani gasoline to Georgia within 2007.
To date, different intermediate companies which signed contracts with SOCAR have been engaged in exporting Azerbaijani petrol to Georgia. They noted different dates to resume the export which caused the Georgian Union to send Vakhtang Iobashvili, its Deputy President to Baku for negotiations with SOCAR.
"The negotiations were successful and Georgian companies can receive Azerbaijani petrol at reduced prices and on a wholesale basis." said Mr. Mtvralashvili. He stressed that this innovation would not involve diesel fuel import, which will be delivered by different companies as previously.
"We do not know yet what the new regime of supplying petrol to Georgia will bring, however we have been assured from the Azerbaijani party that the price of petrol would not increase, and would not be in line with Europe's prices," concluded the Georgian official.