Azerbaijan may double its current gas output to up to 52
billion cubic metres by 2020 after finding a major new gas deposit last year,
Deputy Energy Minister Natik Abbasov was reported as saying today.
The Caspian country’s gas output increased by 11.2% in 2010
year-on-year to 26.2 Bcm from 23.6 Bcm in 2009. It plans to produce between 28
and 29 Bcm of gas this year.
Azerbaijan said in December it had found at least 200 Bcm of
gas at the Umid field in the Caspian Sea, describing it as the largest
discovery since the giant Shah Deniz deposit.
Drilling at the Umid deposit is planned for March-April
2011, Reuters reported.
The ex-Soviet republic is being courted by the West and
Russia for its energy reserves in the Caspian Sea, and is a key potential gas
supplier for the European-backed Nabucco pipeline project, aimed at reducing
the continent's energy dependence on Russia.
"Azerbaijan is actively involved in talks over gas
transportation to Europe," Abbasov told reporters.