Gazprom (Russia) and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) have signed an additional agreement doubling gas purchases in Azerbaijan in 2012, totaling 3 billion cubic meters annually, Trend reports.
The document was signed by SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev and Gazprom head Alexey Miller with presence of Azerbaijani and Russian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Dmitry Medvedev in Sochi.
This is the second doubling of gas purchases from Azerbaijan. There is no limit to the maximum volume of purchases. Proper gas infrastructure and lack of transit zones allow Azerbaijan to make more benefit from gas exports to Russia, Miller said.
The contract on purchases and sales of Azerbaijani gas was signed by Gazprom and SOCAR in Baku on October 14, 2009. A supplement to the contract was signed in Baku in early September 2010. Gazprom was to receive 2 billion cubic meters in 2011 and over 2 billion in 2012. Russia did not receive the planned volumes in 2011.
