ECONOMY
NEGOTIATIONS OVER AZERBAIJANI NATURAL GAS SECTOR UNDERWAY
Baku, July 20 (AZERTAC). Azerbaijan negotiates with a number of countries over the natural gas produced in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The International interest in Azerbaijan`s natural gas sector is increasing day by day. So, the countries as Russia, Iran, Syria and a number of European countries show high interest in Azeri gas.
The negotiations are also continuing between Turkey and Azerbaijan over the price and volume of natural gas delivered by the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) pipeline.
According to the agreement signed between SOCAR and Turkish “Botas” Company, the next stage of negotiations between the officials of the two companies will be held in Nakhchivan in early August.
Turkey currently buys average 6 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Azerbaijan via the Shahdeniz I pipeline.
The BTE route passes through the territories of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia and aims to transport and sell Azerbaijan`s natural gas to Europe. The gas flow from the Caspian Sea to the West will be sustained with the extension of the pipeline to Italy by 2011, a project supported by the United States. The BTE is already linked with the Turkey-Greece inter-connector as a first step to provide Europe with natural gas.