Gazprom to boost gas purchases in Azerbaijan to 3 bcm in 2012
MOSCOW. Dec 15 (Interfax) - Gazprom will boost gas purchases in Azerbaijan to 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2012, the company reported following a meeting between Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and president of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) Rovnag Abdullayev.
Gazprom started purchasing gas in Azerbaijan in 2010, buying 1 bcm that year. The company plans to acquire 2 bcm this year.
The company said that "according to preliminary information, Gazprom's purchase of Azerbaijani gas in November increased by 70% compared to the previous year and had reached 1.36 bcm."
Prior the launch of the Shah-Deniz field, Azerbaijan purchased gas from Russia. After the start of the field's development, the country started exporting gas and became a competitor for Gazprom on the European market. Azerbaijan is viewed as one of the gas supply sources for the Nabucco pipeline, which would supply gas from the Caspian and Central Asia to Europe, thereby circumventing Russia.