Azerbaijan to Provide Bulgaria With Gas

Azerjaiban has agreed to provide Bulgaria with 1 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually.

The commitment was provided by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev in meetings held with Bulgarian energy minister Traicho Traikov.

Aliev said that deliveries, which would to be in addition to supplies foreseen for the Nabucco gas pipeline, would flow as soon as a transit agreement is signed between Turkey and Azerbaijan. 

Azerbaijan and Turkey may conclude a long-awaited deal on the transit of the Shah Deniz gas to Europe “in the very near future,” said Richard Tawse, head of finance at BP Azerbaijan.

Reha Muratoglu, a department head at Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Ministry, said his government intends to complete the talks by the end of October.

The talks have dragged on for five years, said Elsad Nasirov, vice president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), a partner in Shah Deniz.

“We are ready to sign a deal today even if the Turks are also ready,” Nasirov said.  “Talks are continuing, but I do not know when they will produce results.”