Baku interested in Iraqi natural gas

Azerbaijan has offered Iraq access to the Southern Gas Corridor, in a bid to help the war-torn country to export its gas to Western markets. Azerbaijani foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov visited Baghdad on 10 February for talks with high-ranking Iraqi officials on deepening bilateral ties. 

“It is a huge project […] and it is open if Iraq has an interest in delivering its own natural gas,” Mammadyarov said during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari. He added that other countries had already signalled to Baku their interest in contributing gas to the Southern Gas Corridor, although no details were revealed. 

Iraq produces limited quantities of natural gas, most of which is used for domestic consumption. Considerable volumes of associated gas is still flared due to the lack of facilities to use it more productively. But the government is increasingly focused on stepping production for export. 

During his meeting with Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, Mammadyarov said that Azerbaijan was planning to open a full-fledged embassy in Baghdad in the near future. A permanent diplomatic mission in the Iraqi capital has already been authorised by the Azerbaijani parliament. “Our companies want to work and invest in Iraq, especially in its energy sector,” he added. 

Azerbaijan is not the only country interested in Iraq’s natural gas resources. Earlier this month, an Istanbul-based newspaper  quoted Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz as saying that Ankara might prefer gas imports from Iraq to its current gas supplies from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. He said the price of Iraqi gas might prove much lower, because it would not have to cross foreign territory and would travel a shorter distance. 

Last June, Ashti Hawrami, minister of natural resources in Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government, told the press that his government envisaged the start of natural gas supplies to Turkey as early as 2016. At the initial stage, around 10 billion cubic metres of gas is planned to be supplied across the border. Iraqi Kurdistan is set to begin oil deliveries to Turkey this September.

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© 2014 Menas Associates

Azerbaijan increases gas supplies to Turkey by 2 billion m³

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has increased gas supplies to Turkey from 13-14 million m³ to 16 million m³ per day. The increase in supply is partly due to an explosion near a pipeline transporting gas from Iran to Turkey, which meant that Iranian gas supplies in to the country were suspended. According to Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz supplies will resume in approximately 7 days.

Azerbaijan supplies gas to Turkey under a contract on the Shah Deniz offshore gas field. The countract stipulates that Turkey has to receive 6.6 billion m³ of gas per year during the field's first stage. The field's total reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion m³.

The contract to develop Shah Deniz was signed 4th June 1996, and includes the following participants BP (operator) with 25.5 per cent, Statoil 25.5 per cent, NICO 10 per cent, Total 10 per cent, LukAgip 10 per cent, TPAO 9 per cent and SOCAR with a 10 per cent share.

Source: Trend Azerbaijan

For more news and expert analysis about the Caspian region, please see Caspian Focus.