The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is interested in purchasing gas distribution networks in Turkey.
Vagif Aliyev, head of SOCAR’s investment department and chairman of the board of directors of Turkey’s petrochemical giant Petkim, made the remarks to Hurriyet newspaper.
He said SOCAR-Turcas was turning into a very strong energy holding: “We have very many projects, why not cooperate in the gas distribution sphere? I admit that today we are interested in such networks in Turkey as Bashkent Gaz and IGDAS (Istanbul’s gas distribution network).
SOCAR is already involved in modernizing the gas distribution network in the Georgian town of Poti and has stated its interest in bidding for Georgia’s gas network as a whole, should it be privatized.
Vagif Aliyev told Hurriyet that investments in Turkey were among SOCAR’s largest investments abroad.
“We have made huge investments in the Petkim petrochemical complex and we do not want to stop at this, we have many plans. If a tender is declared for the purchase of the IGDAS gas distribution network, we want to take part in it,” he said.
Vagif Aliyev dismissed as false comments in a US diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks that Azerbaijan had sold gas to Russia to prevent Turkey becoming a gas distribution hub.
“Azerbaijan has never said it does not want to see Turkey as an energy centre. Can a brother say this against his brother? We have always been happy about Turkey’s success and viewed it as our own,” Aliyev said.
“As for our relations with Turkey, we have never concealed that Azerbaijan wants to sell its gas with a higher profit. Yes, we are brothers, but brotherhood and trade are different things. And we were glad to find a mutually acceptable solution,” Aliyev said.
1news.az, Hurriyet
Leave a Reply