Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) and SOCAR Turkey Petrokimya AS (STPAS) inked a memorandum of understanding for the delivery of up to 1.7 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas that will run until Dec. 31, 2024.
Under the agreement signed between the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Dec. 22 and published in Turkey's Official Gazette, BOTAŞ will deliver enough natural gas to STPAS to cover the needs of the group companies of SOCAR Turkey Enerji AS.
The agreement is a renewal and addition to the existing gas sales and purchase contract (SPA) already in place. It covers the import costs relating to the SPA, the transportation tariff and other transportation costs incurred by BOTAŞ in Turkey, and all applicable taxes.
However, a separate annual contract will be concluded between BOTAŞ and STPAS covering the delivery quantities, taking into consideration the take or pay obligations of BOTAŞ.
The parties are expected to utilize the full available capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline for the transmission of additional natural gas volumes that will be produced and transported from upstream projects in Azerbaijan.
The memorandum of understanding, which is subject to amendments and updates, will take effect on the completion of each country's respective internal legal procedures.