Georgia reaches verbal agreement with Russian Gazprom
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.

Georgia’s Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze said the agreement with Gazprom will be signed in the nearest days, while delivering his speech today at the united session of the economic committee and foreign relations committee in Parliament. 

Issues related to Georgia’s gas supply were the main topic of the session. 

Georgia took part in the third round of negotiations with Gazprom in Austria’s capital Vienna after the current contract expires. All three rounds ended without success however an agreement was expected to be reached "in few days”, said Kaladze.

Meanwhile Kaladze also highlighted the importance of a new deal signed with Azerbaijani’s national oil company SOCAR, securing Georgia’s natural gas supply needs for the coming years.

A very significant agreement was signed with SOCAR last week. It is a very good fact,” Kaladze said.

The new deal between Georgia’s Energy Ministry and SOCAR will see Azerbaijan provide Georgia with additional gas via the Shah Deniz pipeline. The amount supplied from Azerbaijan will increase almost two-fold. 

We do not depend on only one provider. I have said many times that Azerbaijan is our strategic partner providing us with 90 percent of natural gas. The Kazakh pipeline being the property of SOCAR cannot be used to transport additional volumes. But due to joint work the problem has been solved and we will be able to receive natural gas via the Shah Deniz pipeline,” Kaladze said.

The Energy Minister said natural gas consumption was increasing in Georgia. 

In 2012 our natural gas consumption reached 1.96 million cubic metres (m3), while today it is 2.47 million m3. Out of this amount the commercial gas consumption is about 1.76 million m3, the population receives 753 million m3 and thermal power plants - 650 million m3,” Kaladze said.

Georgia’s Energy Minister also talked about the country’s energy sector and said: "We are able to turn Georgia into an independent country in terms of energy”. 

He said Georgia depended on its neighbouring countries when importing electricity in winter. Kaladze said Georgia imported electricity at the "best prices” from Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia.

"But we have a possibility to turn Georgia into an independent country in terms of electricity by using our own resources effectively,” Kaladze said.