BAKU AND ANKARA AGREE ON SOME GAS TERMS

UPI.com
Feb. 2, 2010 at 11:20 AM

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 2 (UPI) — Baku and Ankara have agreed on
the price of gas from the first phase of the Shah Deniz gas field,
though further talks are needed, energy officials said.

Ankara has sought to allay concerns from the Azeri government regarding
the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Meanwhile, both sides have
sat idle on the transit terms and revenues for natural gas heading
to Europe across Turkey.

Rovnag Abdullayev, the head of the State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan
Republic, said both sides have made headway on talks regarding gas from
the first phase of the Shah Deniz field, the Trend news agency reports.

"We have agreed upon questions concerning the gas price in the first
stage," he said. "The question the gas price in the second stage has
not yet agreed upon."

Ankara had complained that the current price it pays for Azeri gas
is unfair.

Both countries are positioning themselves as major players in the
regional energy sector. Azerbaijan sits on some of the largest natural
gas deposits in the world, with roughly 30 trillion cubic feet of
reserves on hand. Turkey, meanwhile, is set to host Russia’s South
Stream gas pipeline and Europe’s Nabucco pipeline, which could rely
on Azeri gas.