BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Reconstruction of natural gas infrastructure will allow Azerbaijan to increase its gas exports to Iran and Russia, the state oil company said.
The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan announced the reconstruction of two separate pipelines would give Azerbaijan the capacity needed to increase gas exports, the Azerbaijan Business Center reports.
SOCAR said the pipeline to Russia will allow the company to execute a contract with Russian gas monopoly Gazprom that calls for up to 70 billion cubic feet per year.
The company said it doesn't have a long-term export contract with Iran but the work was carried out in preparation for a deal.
The European community is eager to tap into Azerbaijan's lucrative natural gas resources to feed its planned Nabucco gas pipeline.
Europe is backing the $11 billion Nabucco pipeline to move non-Russian natural gas to the eurozone.
Christian Dolezal, a spokesman for the Nabucco pipeline consortium, in early September said there was enough natural gas in Iraq and Azerbaijan to have the project on stream by 2015.
