Transneft ready to discuss oil transfers with Azerbaijan

Transneft spokesman Igor Dyomin said that the company started talks on oil transfers with Azerbaijan. The quality of oil was not a topic included in the discussions.

The Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline needs a volume of 5 million tons of oil annually to operate without losses. 3-4 million tons of oil will consist of heavy Caspian oil, mainly from Kazakhstan. It would reduce costs for transfer of Azerbaijani oil.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ended transfers of Azerbaijani through the pipeline in May.