By Samvel Avagyan

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) repeatedly expressed its wish to purchase the Georgian section of the North-South gas main, which supplies Russian gas to Armenia.

RA Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan once stated that Armenia will not sustain any losses even if Azerbaijan purchases the gas main, as intergovernmental agreements guarantee gas supply.

However, on January 17, the Azerbaijan-based Trend news agency reported SOCAR’s comments on its wish to purchase the gas main. The comments show that, if purchased, the gas main will be used for different purposes, which will make regular gas supply to Armenia impossible.

According to SOCAR, the gas main may be used in the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romanian Interconnector (AGRI) project. The project envisages the piping of Azeri gas to the Black Sea coast of Georgia. After being liquefied, the gas will be carried to the port of Constanta, Romania.

Comments seem to the absurd: for gas to be piped from Azerbaijan to the Black Sea, the gas main must run from east to west rather than from north to south. With its current geographical location the North-South gas main is not of interest for gas transmission to Romania. The gas main can only be useful if it is re-constructed in the east-west direction.

Thus, if the gas main is sold to Azerbaijan, Georgia will not be able to guarantee gas supply to Armenia, as the standby gas main has not the sufficient capacity. The sale of the gas main to Azerbaijan will not only cause Armenian-Georgia relations to worsen, but also create tension in Russian-Georgian relations, which is unacceptable to the international community.

This may be the reason why the Georgian Foreign Minister, before his January 18 visit to Azerbaijan, stated through his spokesman that “during Grigol Vashdaze’s visit to Baku the issue of SOCAR purchasing the North-South gas main will not be discussed.” However, the Minister hinted that the issue remains on the agenda.