Gazprom signs contract on supply of up to 2 bcm of gas a year to Azerbaijan's AzMeCo
MOSCOW. Sept 11 (Interfax) - Gazprom Export has signed an agreement on the sale of up to 2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year to Azerbaijan Methanol Company (AzMeCo), the Russian company said.
The contract was signed by Gazprom Export CEO Elena Burmistrova and AzMeCo board of directors chairman Nizami Piriyev.
AzMeCo was founded in 2007 in Azerbaijan to invest in petrochemical projects as an owner and operator. The company is wholly privately owned and carries out the development, implementation and project financing of large projects in Azerbaijan. In addition to its portfolio of international hydrocarbon investments in the Caspian basin, AzMeCo created a master plan of investment in Azerbaijan - construction of the Karadagh Methanol Plant. At the moment the Methanol Plant's construction has been finished. Commissioning of the plant took place in the second part of 2013.
"The natural gas supplies by Gazprom will ensure the Karadagh Methanol Plant's capacity is fully utilized," Gazprom said in the press release.
The supplies will begin soon, it said, adding that the gas would be supplied to the end consumer.
Azerbaijan has long been considered a rival to Gazprom on the European market. European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak are discussing the construction of gas pipelines from Russia to the EU, among other issues, at talks in Vienna on Friday.