The First Azerbaijani natural gas has crossed the Azerbaijani-Georgian border and entered the gas distribution system of Georgia.
The daily gas delivery will equal 3mln cu m. Azerbaijan will supply Georgia with gas within ten days on a monthly basis. According to the agreement between the two countries, the gas supply will be carried out from the tenth day to the twentieth of each month, as stipulated in the agreement signed during the visit of Georgian Prime Minister, Zurab Nogaideli to Baku at the end of 2006.
Azerbaijan will supply Georgia with gas produced by SOCAR from its own fields. Representatives of Georgia and Azerbaijan earlier said that the gas price will reach $120 per 1,000 cu m.
This year, Azerbaijan is expected to provide Georgia with gas to be produced from the Azerbaijan offshore gas condensate field Shah Daniz. The guaranteed gas volume which Georgia will receive at the price of $63 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2007 will reach 250 mln. cu.m. Additional gas volumes and their prices are subjects of separate negotiations between the two parties.
More probably, in January Georgia will receive the final data on the commencement of the Azerbaijani gas delivery from Shah Deniz Field via the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum pipeline. Afterwards, Georgia plans to reduce and later to cease purchase of expensive Russian gas.
Presently, Russian gas giant, Gazprom, is Georgia's only gas supplier. The price of Russian gas has been fixed at a rate of $235 per 1.000 cu.m.
Meanwhile, since January 1, 2007, due to the disagreement in the gas prices, Azerbaijan refused from Russian gas. Gasprom official sated that Azerbaijan produces natural gas and carries out gas exports. So, the cessation of gas deliveries from Russia is a matter of time'.
From 1 January 2007 Azerbaijan has switched to a mazut regime. Sice the beginning of January approxmately 50,000 tons of mazut has been given to the power stations in order to generate electricity.
Presently the entire output of oil produced at local oil refinery enterprises are directed at production of mazut. Moreover, gas stored at underground gas reservoirs is also used for this purpose. Over 1bln cu m of gas was pumped to gas reservoirs during autumn-winter period. Russian gas export to Azerbaijan will be fully ceased from 1 January.
Let's hope all efforts by the Government to lead to goodness.