Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend K.Arinova / State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the Kazakhstan KazMunayGas JSC company signed an agreement on strategic cooperation in oil and gas sphere and memorandum on joint implementation of TransCaspian project. The documents have been signed within the framework of the official visit of the Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev, to Astana.
The signed agreement demonstrates mutual intensions of both sides on continuing beneficial cooperation in oil and gas spheres and includes corresponding agreement on transporting and transit of Kazakhstan oil, oil development and oil chemicals, as well as joint use of oil and gas infrastructure of SOCAR.
Memorandum is the next step in implementation of TransCaspian project, the base conditions of which have been set up in 'Agreement on assistance and support of transporting of oil from Kazakhstan via the Caspian Sea and the Azerbaijani Republic to international markets through Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan route, signed by the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev, in June 2006.
In compliance with the signed memorandum both sides are intend to implement the TransCaspian project, which will include oil discharge terminals in Kazakhstan coast of the Caspian Sea, tankers and vessels, oil-tankers on Azerbaijani coast of the Caspian Sea and connecting facilities to Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan.
TransCaspian system is a part of projecting Kazakhstan Caspian System of Transporting. Initially, Kazakhstan Caspian System of Transporting will transport 500,000 barrels per day (23mln tons per year) and later will increase by 750 and 12,000 barrels per day (35mln to 56mln tons per year).