Is Russia making political conditions for supplying Azerbaijan with $130 gas?

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Russia is making political conditions to Azerbaijan in the framework of their talks for gas supplies in 2007, reports Fineco. An Azeri government source has told the news agency that Russia is offering two alternatives: either Azerbaijan joins the economic blockade of Georgia and gets Russian gas at $130/1,000 c m, or it will have to buy it at $230. Meanwhile, neither Gazprom nor its subsidiary Gazexport have made any officials offer to Azerbaijan yet.

“Under such conditions, the Azeri Government is beginning to think about negotiating with its partners in the Shah Deniz project for buying the whole Shah Deniz gas for meeting domestic needs,” says the source.

Azerbaijan’s gas demand is 13bln-14bln c. m. a year, while the extraction is no more than 6.5bln c. m.. The operator of the Shah Deniz project, British Petroleum, says that it will be able to fully meet Azerbaijan’s gas demand no earlier than in 2012.