Azerbaijan plans more gas from consortium |
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Thu, 18 Jan 2007 07:27
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BAKU, Azerbaijan (AFX) - A consortium led by Western oil giant BP PLC will help Azerbaijan do without Russian natural gas by providing the former Soviet republic with about 3 billion cubic meters of gas this year, the head of the nation's state petroleum company said Wednesday.The Azerbaijan International Operating Co., which is developing the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field, has agreed to provide Azerbaijan from 8 to 8.2 million cubic meters of gas a day from the field, for a total of nearly 3 billion cubic meters, Socar Presdent Rovnag Abdullayev said.Earlier, the consortium had said it would earmark 1.4 billion cubic meters for Azerbaijan, but the Caspian Sea nation has vowed to do without Russian gas this year, rejecting the state monopoly OAO Gazprom's demand that it pay US$235 (euro180) per 1,000 cubic meters -- up from US$110 (euro85).Last year, AIOC provided Azerbaijan with 2.14 billion cubic meter of gas from Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli.Among the other companies in the consortium are U.S.-based Chevron and ExxonMobil, Socar and Norway's Statoil.Another BP-led consortium, which is developing Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field, has said it plans to produce at least 5.4 billion cubic meters of gas from the field this year, with about 2.4 billion cubic meters earmarked for domestic consumption.Azerbaijan, which consumes about 10-11 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year, imported about 4.5 billion cubic meters from Russia in 2006.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Gas work resumes at Shah Deniz field 