Azerbaijan Gas Will Be Transported To Greece In 2006

Within the frame of the visit quests will meet with Natig Aliyev, president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, Mejid Kerimov, minister of energetic of Azerbaijan. Transportation of gas from "Shahdeniz" to Greece and Europe will be discussed at meetings. Negotiations on it started some months ago. Besides Turkey and Greece, Serbia and Chernogoria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Italy also want to buy the Azerbaijan gas. According to words of Vasillios Tsompanopulos, general director of Depa Gas Company now the Depa gas Company, SOCAR, Turkish company «Botash» and Italian company «Edisongas» are discussing the problem. Greece will begin to buy the Shahdeniz gas from 2006 year. For the first period Athena will buy 1 billion cubic meters of gas per a year. It should be noticed that, a new gas pipeline must be constructed between Greece and Turkey for transportation of gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. The construction of the pipeline for 285 kilometers will cost 200-250 million dollars. Construction of Turkey-Greece pipeline will be finished till the end of 2005 or the beginning of 2006. The last negotiations for it were held in Baku Oil and Gas Exhibition on June. But the problem isn’t solved till now, as some financial problems for transportation of Azerbaijan oil to Greece and the transit fee in the territory of Turkey haven’t been determined yet.