Azerbaijan, Iran sign gas contract
SOCAR signs contract on supply of 100 mln cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas to Iran.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan and the National Iranian Gas Export Company, NIGEC has signed a short-term contract on Azerbaijani gas supplies to Iran.
The agreement in Baku was signed by SOCAR president Rovnag Abdullayev and NIGEC general director Seid Rza Kesaidzade.
Abdullayev said the contract envisions supply of about 100 mln cubic meters of Azerbaijan gas to Iran. The term of supply is May-April 2010, the daily supplies will make 1.2 mln cubic meters of gas.
"A long-term contract that we are planning to sign in summer of this year is now being prepared. The supply volumes will grow to 3-5 mln cubic meters daily within the framework of a long-term contract from autumn of this year", the SOCAR president said.
He noted that Iran will be supplied with gas produced by SOCAR within the framework of a short-term and a long-term contract.
The SOCAR president added that the State Oil Company intends to invest AZN 100 mln into expansion of a gas compressor station in Astara and repair of the Hajiqabul-Astara gas pipeline by autumn.
"We have a very good infrastructure in the country’s north and Iran is ready to accept any volumes of gas from Azerbaijan", Kesaidzade has noted.
As reported earlier, SOCAR and the National Isranian Gas Compnay signed a memo on supplies of Azerbaijani gas to Iran from 2010 on 11 November 2009. The supplies to Iran will be at least 500 mln cubic meters and this volume will grow after the repair of the gas transportation infrastructure.
Interfax-Azerbaijan