'Turkey may refuse from using 'take or pay' principle in gas supplies'

Turkey intends to abandon the "take or pay" principle by 2013-2014 within the contract on gas supplies with Azerbaijan, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz was quoted today by Turkish newspaper The Lira as saying.

"Turkey intends to refuse from using 'take or pay' principle in gas supplies with both Azerbaijan and Iran by 2013-2014," Yildiz said.

In 2013 Turkey plans to suspend a contract signed with Iran on this principle, he said.

At present, Turkey receives gas from the Azerbaijani gas condensate field 'Shah Deniz' through the South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum). According to the contract, Turkey must receive 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas within the first stage of the field development. Turkey will receive six more billion cubic meters of gas from the second stage.

Total reserves of 'Shah Deniz' field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.

The contract to develop the offshore Shah Deniz field was signed on June 4, 1996. Participants to the agreement are: BP (operator) - 25.5 per cent, Statoil - 25.5 per cent, NICO - 10 per cent, Total - 10 per cent, LukAgip - 10 per cent, TPAO - nine per cent and SOCAR-10 per cent.

Iran and Turkey signed an agreement on the annual supply of 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey in 1996 (30 million cubic meters daily).


/Trend/