OREANDA-NEWS. April 15, 2010. This March the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) increased volumes of gas export from the country by 13.7% against February 2010.

The Company informs that in March 2010 gas export totaled 174,400 cu m versus 153.4 million cu m in February, 172.8 million cu m in January of 2010 and 146.58 million cu m in December 2009.

Export for December 2008 (178.45 million cu m) still remains a record indicator for SOCAR on own export.

“For Jan-Mar 2010 our gas export reached 501.2 million cu m,” SOCAR informed.

In 2009 it was exported 1.03 bn cu m versus 818.93 million cu m in 2008.

As a result, for the past year SOCAR increased its own gas export by 25.9%.

This January SOCAR launched gas supplies for Russia’s Gazprom.

This year Gazprom can acquire from SOCAR about 1 bn cu m of gas that will double its export compared with 2009. Between March and April of the year SOCAR is expected to begin restricted (100 million cu m) supplies for Iran’s NIGEC and then will sign a long-term contract with it. SOCAR is able to increase really its own export 2-2.5 fold in 2010.