SOCAR eyes new customers in Georgia

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic said it would deliver gas to 57,000 new customers in nearby Georgia by 2010 under the terms of a December agreement.

SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev signed a gas delivery agreement with Lasha Zhvania, the Georgian economic minister, in December. SOCAR under the terms of that contract will supply more than 150,000 consumers with their energy needs.

SOCAR said that in order to reach all of its targeted consumers, it would to deliver as much as 1.1 billion cubic feet of gas, up from a current level of 211 billion cubic feet per year. Daily levels are set at 105 million cubic feet, though that level was lower than expected due to inclement weather, the Azerbaijan Business Center reports.

SOCAR notes that the 2008 conflict between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia delayed the signing of the gas contract.

Azerbaijan supplies the bulk of the oil for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the second longest in the world. The 2008 war disrupted the regional energy network, including BTC.

Azerbaijan is the primary supplier of natural gas to Georgia.