Azerbaijan will stop importing Russian gas beginning January, a top Azeri energy official said Tuesday, after Moscow asked for more than double its previous price, AFX News reported on Tuesday.
"Imports of Russian gas to Azerbaijan will be halted as of Jan. 1," said Alikhan Melikhov, president of gas company Azerigaz.
The move would result in a deficit of 4 billion to 4.5 billion cubic meters. "This is a very big volume," he said, adding that Azerbaijan would need to introduce a system to decrease gas consumption.
Earlier Russia said it would slash the amount of gas it sends the former Soviet republic next year to 1.5 billion cubic meters, and would charge more than twice as much for it -- US$230 (euro173) per 1,000 cubic meters.
While Russia's energy monopoly Gazprom asserts that Azerbaijan has enough in its own reserves to cover domestic needs, the move has angered Azeri officials.
The cut has thrown further attention on Gazprom's own ability to satisfy rising domestic and overseas demand.
The move will affect many countries which have expected to import gas from the huge Shah-Deniz field in Azerbaijan after 2014. Greece is one of them.
The underwater section of the Greece-Italy gas pipeline which is expected to be finished in 2011, would carry gas from the Caspian region through Turkey to Greece and then to Italy and from there the fuel would hit the western markets, supposedly would transport gas from the huge Shah-Deniz field in Azerbaijan which will start production in the beginning of 2007.
However, the expected production has already been contracted from Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan itself. Larger quantities will be available beyond 2014.