SOCAR, Turkish Botas sign multiple gas contracts

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Turkish state-backed energy company Botas have signed several contracts for the supply and transit of natural gas, Botas announced on 4 June.

“We have signed the extension of the term of the natural gas supply agreement between Botas and Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company, which will expire this year, until the end of 2030," Turkish energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar, during his visit to Baku, stated. 

A signing ceremony was held on the margins of the 29th International Caspian Oil and Natural Gas Fair in Azerbaijan, part of Baku Energy Week, with the participation of Bayraktar and Azerbaijani economy minister Mikayıl Cabbarov.

Botas general manager Abdulvahit Fidan and Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company General Manager Lidya Salahova signed an agreement extending the natural gas supply agreement, which will expire at the end of 2024, until the end of 2030. Fidan also signed four other agreements with SOCAR president Rovsen Necef regarding the delivery of natural gas.

Bayraktar, in a social media post about the agreements, said, "During our visit to Baku, we took new steps to lay the groundwork for the agreement on cooperation in the field of natural gas, which we signed with Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Mikayıl Cabbarov in Istanbul last month.”

In recent months, Botas has signed multiple cooperation deals. In February, Botas and Egyptian natural gas company EGAS agreed to focus on natural gas and LNG trading opportunities, cooperation in natural gas infrastructure, and underground storage. In April, Botas signed an LNG deal with Oman LNG, followed by another LNG deal with ExxonMobil in May.