Azerbaijan will additionally supply 500 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas a year to Georgia, according to Rovnag Abdullayev, president of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR.

Abdullayev made the remarks speaking to Trend at the second meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council in Baku Feb. 29.

“Previously, we supplied 800 mcm of gas a year to Georgia from the Shah Deniz,” he said. “We have managed to increase the supply through that route to 1.5 billion cubic meters (bcm), as well as to 1.5 bcm via a pipeline connecting the two countries in Azerbaijan’s Gazakh district.”

He also said that at present, there is an opportunity to additionally obtain 500 to 700 mcm of gas from the Shah Deniz consortium.

“We can use a part of that gas volume in Azerbaijan and supply another part to Georgia and Turkey,” added Abdullayev.

“Earlier, we weren’t able technically to increase gas supply to Georgia,” he said. “We then talked to the Shah Deniz consortium. As a result, the supply in winter and summer periods will stand at 70 percent to 30 percent ratio (earlier 60 percent to 40 percent ratio).”

Georgia’s annual gas consumption stands at 2.4 bcm.

Some 750 to 800 mcm of the gas is being supplied from the Shah Deniz field to Georgia annually, 1.4 bcm by SOCAR, and 200 mcm by Russia.

Azerbaijan exports gas to Georgia via a pipeline linking the two countries in the Azerbaijani district of Gazakh.

This pipeline can pump more than 2.5 bcm of gas a year.