Energy Minister: Azerbaijan Nearly Satisfies Georgia’s Entire Gas Demand

Georgia’s Vice-Premier and Energy Minister has claimed that neighboring Azerbaijan is the main gas supplier of Georgia and nearly satisfies the country’s entire gas demand.

Kaladze told Azerbaijani news agency, Trend, that Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR ensures a guaranteed, continuous and reliable gas supply to the social sector—households and power generation facilities—based on the memorandum signed with Georgia and the agreements with Georgia’s Oil and Gas Corporation.

Kaladze added that this factor significantly contributes to the energy security of Georgia.

"The average daily volume of gas supply is about 10.5-11.5 million cubic meters from Azerbaijani sources, which is expected to be increased even further with the ongoing development of the second phase of the Shah Deniz field," he said.

The minister said the Georgian side welcomes the participation of SOCAR in the energy sector of Georgia.

"SOCAR Georgia Gas Ltd. performs the largest gasification project across the country. The works are provided under the contract between the Government of Georgia and SOCAR signed in 2009, within the framework of which the rehabilitation and construction of a natural gas distribution network is carried out," he added.

Kaladze said that in 2009-2016, more than 200,000 consumers in about 600 settlements got access to natural gas in Georgia.

“By the end of this year, 75 percent of the population will have access to natural gas," he added.

As for the joint Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Power Bridge, Kaladze said it is operating successfully.

"Georgia and Azerbaijan are connected by two high-voltage lines (500 kV and 33 kV), which increased the reliability of connection and cross-border capacity," he said.

In 2016, around 1 billion kWh (300 MW) of electricity was transited from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia.

Thea Morrison