Officials: No deal yet in Georgia-Turkey-Azerbaijan talks on Caspian gas quotas

The minister, Natik Aliev, told reporters in Baku there were "several difficulties" tying up the talks, including disputes over how Georgia would pay for up to 800 million cubic meters of gas if Turkey allows it to remain in Georgia.

The issue is likely to top the agenda when Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili travels to Turkey this week for an official visit.

Workers began extracting gas from the 400 billion cubic meter Shah Deniz field Saturday.

Peak capacity is expected to reach 8.4 billion cubic meters of gas and 2 million tons of gas condensate per year, shipped from Baku via a pipeline to the Georgian capital Tbilisi and into the eastern Turkish city of Erzurum.

Under agreements signed in 2001, Turkey will receive 6.6 million cubic meters of gas per year with the rest divided between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

However, Turkey has agreed next year to cede some of its gas to the two ex-Soviet republic countries, which are eager to avoid importing expensive Russian gas.

Energy supplies from Azerbaijan's Caspian fields are playing an increasingly important role in the region, as Russia has dramatically raised prices for it's natural gas. The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/