State commission accepts large gas facility in Azerbaijan

State Admission Committee of Azerbaijan has commissioned a new gas compressor station, built in Astara, which is a constituent element of the transportation infrastructure, connecting Azerbaijan and Iran, said in a statement released by the SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) on Friday.

The statement said the station was constructed based on a project prepared by the Neftgazelmitedgigatlayihe Institute, and construction work was carried out by Oil and Gas Construction Trust upon order of Azerigas Production Unit.

A gas compressor station consisting of two compressors in Astara was already built in 2005 in order to provide gas to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR). However, to better provide NAR with gas, as well as implement obligations under the contract on gas supplies, signed between Azerbaijan and Iran, the question of building an additional station became urgent.

Prior to construction of a new station, Azerbaijan supplied to Iran more than one million cubic meters of gas within the swap operations per day to cover the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic's needs.

SOCAR and NIGEC signed an agreement on long-term Azerbaijani gas supplies to Iran in Baku on Jan. 12. Under the contract, which concludes after five years, Azerbaijan will supply 1 billion cubic meters of gas to Iran in 2011 and the volume will increase in the coming years.

The contract was signed by SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev and NIGEC General Director Javad Oji.

Azerbaijan and Iran are connected with the Astara-Bind-Biand gas pipeline with a length of 1,474.5 kilometers, including 296.5 kilometers in Azerbaijan. Its design capacity was 10 billion cubic meters a year and now it is lower. The route is a branch of the Gazakh-Astara-Iran Pipeline commissioned in 1971. Three compressor stations, including in Gazi-Magomed, Aghdash and Gazakh, were built on its route. The transmission system is designed to pressure 55 atmospheres. The pipe's diameter is 1,200 mm.


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