Azerbaijan wants to export gas to Western Europe but purchases it for its own needs, reports Reuters. A few years ago, Azerbaijan began to develop Shah Deniz gas mine and pre-sell its expected production to Greece, Italy, Turkey, and other countries that want to reduce their dependence on the Russian gas.
However, last year, when Shah Deniz gas pipeline was half-completed, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan informed about importing gas from Iran. According to Reuters, the gas was supplied through the territory of Turkmenistan, but these supplies were suspended because of a dispute over prices between Iran and Turkmenistan. Gas imports from Russia were halted due to the same issues.
Officials hope, that Azerbaijan will be able to meet the demand at the expense of other fields, including Unid, Bull Deniz, and Absheron, which will be developed in collaboration with French Total. In January SOCAR announced, about a sharp increase of gas prices. At the same time, the people of Azerbaijan were not able to pay for food and other essential goods before that as well. As one of company’s vice-presidents tells, that price increase will not be the last thing. "If AZN continues devaluing, SOCAR will suggest to revise the price of the gas," said Suleymana Gasimova.
Matanat Kasumovan works in a Baku shop. She had to save money on heating expenses, as her payments doubled to 100 AZN ( about $56). It is one fifth of the average salary in Azerbaijan.
Some Azerbaijani residents blame the government for the created situation, which is a rare phenomenon in a country, where complaints do not come out of friends’ circle. "I do not know how to pay my fees. The rates are increasing, and the government does nothing to help us," says S. Fatah, a taxi driver who works in Baku. He did not disclose his last name.
Aliyev, who succeeded his father in 2003, this week appointed his wife Mehriban the vice president of the country. At the beginning of last year, because of unemployment and increasing prices, there took place protests in several cities of Azerbaijan.
On February 1, AZN fell to historic minimum value against dollar, reaching USD 1.92 per AZN. Since late 2015, AZN has devalued twice, whereas the annual inflation rate has tripled and reached 12 percent. There are no obvious signs of protest, but the 45-year-old Baku resident Vagif Asadov says, that dissatisfaction in Azerbaijan is quite common. "They all complain but do not express it publicly," he says.
Azerbaijan consumes about 12 billion cubic meters of gas. According to statistics, in 2016 there was registered a decline of 1.4 billion cubic meters of gas. Earlier, in December of 2016, SOCAR's second vice president Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh told Reuters, that Baku began purchasing 2-4 million cubic meters of gas per day from Iran. In 2016 Azerbaijan bought about 286 million cubic meters of gas.
