SOCAR will increase gas supply to Georgia this winter
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Azerbaijan’s national oil company SOCAR is increasing its natural gas supply to Georgia this winter by at least 50 million cubic meters.
A statement released today by SOCAR revealed the Azerbaijani oil firm had reached an agreement with the Shah Deniz and South Caucasus Pipeline consortiums to revise its seasonal gas limits supplied to Georgia.
The agreement came following a request by the Government of Georgia to increase the amount of natural gas SOCAR supplied to the country, particularly in the winter months when there was a seasonal deficit of natural gas.
Support for Georgia’s request is a sign of good neighbourly relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia and creates a basis for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the future,” read the statement released by SOCAR.
In recent months Georgia’s energy challenges have become an active topic of discussion. Last year the country’s Energy Minister announced Georgia’s demand for natural gas over winter might not be satisfied by Azerbaijan, and the country needed to "look for alternative sources of energy”.
In response to these comments, Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan had "enormous deposits of gas”.
Georgia’s Energy Minister further explained the problem was not with Azerbaijan’s gas supply but with the capacity of the two pipelines through which Georgia received gas from Azerbaijan.
At the beginning of January Kaladze hosted director general of SOCAR Energy Georgia, Mahir Mammedov, in Tbilisi to discuss ways to avoid a natural gas supply deficit over the winter months.
Following negotiations with SOCAR, the Georgian side decided to implement several projects with its Azerbaijani partners to address the gas deficit issue.
One project involved constructing an underground natural gas storage facility in Georgia while another project envisaged increasing the existing capacity of SOCAR gas transit and upgrading SOCAR’s natural gas pipelines.
A third project related to the Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian Sea, offshore from Azerbaijan, that opened Europe for Azerbaijani gas.
Georgia’s Energy Minister explained technically it was impossible to receive extra gas from Azerbaijan this year but after the three above mentioned projects were implemented, Georgia would overcome its winter natural gas supply deficit challenge.
Accordingly, Kaladze started negotiations with Russian energy giant Gazprom and with Iran to fill this winter’s natural gas supply deficit.
The second round of negotiations between Georgia and Russian energy giant Gazprom has ended without success.
Georgia’s Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze departs for Austria’ capital Vienna today to held the next round of negotiations with Russian energy giant Gazprom.
The US Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly believes Georgia should not be dependent on one source of energy.
Georgia is taking measures for the sake of safeguarding the country’s natural gas supply.
Azerbaijan is increasing the amount of natural gas it supplies to Georgia almost two-fold. Georgia will receive an additional 500 million cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan, Georgia's main gas supplier, bringing the amount it receives to 1.3 billion cubic metres (m3) per year.
Georgia will overcome its natural gas supply deficit thanks to a new deal with Azerbaijani’s national oil company SOCAR.
Georgia offers Russia’s Gazprom to continue with old terms
"The Government of Georgia provided the best conditions for a continuous gas supply and energy security,” says Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze while commenting on the recently signed Georgia-SOCAR deal.
Relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan are "truly exemplary”, says a top Georgian official. Georgia’s Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze wrote these words on his Twitter page after he met Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Baku this afternoon.
10% gas in return for transit rights; no monetary compensation
Georgia has reached a verbal agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom to continue cooperating as it did in the past, meaning Georgia will receive 10 percent of the natural gas that transits through the country to Armenia instead of monetary compensation.
10% gas in return for transit rights; no monetary compensation
Russian energy giant Gazprom has accepted Georgia’s offer and agreed to sign a new deal that honours the old terms, meaning Georgia will receive 10 percent of the natural gas that transits through the country to Armenia instead of monetary compensation.
Georgia is continuing to build and rehabilitate the main pipeline in the Kakheti region to safeguard the country’s natural gas supply in its eastern area.