Mozdok-Makhachkala-Kazi Magomed Gas Pipeline

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Mozdok-Makhachkala-Kazi Magomed Gas Pipeline is an operating natural gas pipeline.[1]

Location

The pipeline runs from Mozdok, Russia through Makhachkala, Novo Filya to Kazi Magomed, Azerbaijan

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Project Details

  • Operator: SOCAR; Gazprom
  • Parent Company: SOCAR; Gazprom
  • Current capacity: 13 billion cubic meters per year
  • Length: 423 miles / 680 kilometers
  • Status: Operating
  • Start Year: 1983

Background

The Mozdok–Makhachkala–Kazi Magomed pipeline is a natural gas pipeline from Mozdok in North Ossetia through Chechnya and Dagestan to Azerbaijan.[2] The Azerbaijani section is also known as the Kazi Magomed–Novo Filya or Baku–Novo Filya, and it connects Baku with the Novo Filya gas metering utility on the Russian side of the Azerbaijan-Russia border.[3] The pipeline will be used for transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Russia starting from 1 January 2010.

History

From 1970–1979, Southern Caucasus republics of the Soviet Union were supplied with natural gas from Iran.[4] After the Iranian Revolution Iranian supplies were cut off.[5] To replace natural gas from Iran, pipelines from Western Siberia and Orenburg through Novopskov were planned.[2] For this purpose, the North Caucasus–Moscow line was reversed and expanded further south by construction of the Mozdok–Makhachkala–Kazi Magomed and Mozdok–Tbilisi–Kazi Magomed pipelines.[6][7] The Mozdok–Makhachkala–Kazi Magomed pipeline was completed in 1983.[8]

In 2007 Azerbaijan started its own gas production and the pipeline between Russia and Azerbaijan became largely inactive. In the summer of 2008, Gazprom started negotiations with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) on buying natural gas from Azerbaijan at market prices based on a long term agreement between the two countries. It had been announced earlier that Russia was willing to diversify its imports and purchase natural gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field.[9]

On 29 June 2009, during an official visit of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Azerbaijan, governments of both countries signed a deal on exports of Azerbaijani gas to Russia. As per this agreement, Russia would be paying Azerbaijan $350 per thousand cubic meters while paying only $300 per thousand cubic meters for Uzbek and Turkmen gas. Under the terms of the deal, Azerbaijan is to sell Russia 0.5 billion cubic meters annually with a possibility of increase of the volume to 1.5 in the future.[10] On 14 October 2009, President of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, Rovnag Abdullayev, and CEO of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, finalized the deal. The agreement oversees the exports for 2010-2014 with a potential for extension.[11] Azerbaijani natural gas would be transported via the Baku-Novo Filya pipeline, which was previously used for transporting natural gas from Russian to Azerbaijan, until 2007, when the shipments were stopped by Azerbaijan as a result of successfully increasing production to meet its own domestic needs. On January 21, during a meeting between Alexei Miller and Rovnag Abdullayev, Gazprom expressed its willingness to purchase more gas from Azerbaijan. The parties agreed to double the amount of gas to be transported from an initially planned 500 million cm to 1 billion in 2010, and to 2 billion cm in 2011.[12] In 2007 Azerbaijan became an exporter of natural gas, starting with its shipments to Georgia and Turkey.

Technical features

The overall length of the pipeline is 680 km (423 mi), of which 200 km (123 km) is in Azerbaijan. The pipe diameter is 1220 mm (48 in) and it had original capacity of 13 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.[2][3][13] It has a gas metering station in Şirvanovka, built in 2003.[14] In Mozdok, the pipeline is connected with the North Caucasus–Moscow line.[2]

Political perspective

Russia will be paying Azerbaijan an estimated $350 per thousand cubic meters which is the highest price Russia had ever paid for gas imports from Caucasus and Central Asia (compared to $300 per tcm for Uzbek and Turkmen gas), a potential deterrent to other gas export projects coming from or through Azerbaijan such as Nabucco or White Stream.[11] Up to 2007, Azerbaijan was a Russian gas importer until the country's production of 10.3 bcm per year became sufficient to meet its internal demand of 8.3 bcm. Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is to produce approximately 9 bcm per year, whilst Shah Deniz II will produce an estimated 10-12 bcm per year when it becomes operational.[10]

Security

During the 1990s–2000s, the pipeline was attacked several times in Chechnya and Dagestan.[15] On 12 January 2010, the pipeline was damaged at its 496th kilometer by a bomb blast on the branch line supplying Derbent and Derbentsky District in Dagestan, causing a fire and leaving 214,000 people without gas supply.[16][17][18] Gas supplies from Azerbaijan by the main trunk line continued by reduced volume.[19]

Articles and resources

References

  1. ↑ Mozdok-Makhachkala-Kazi Magomed Gas Pipeline, Wikipedia, accessed April 2018
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 (1982) Soviet oil and gas to 1990 2. Abt Books, 45. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Gazprom held another round of talks with Azerbaijan" (in Russian), "Vesti Kavkaza" (2009-08-29). Retrieved on 2009-11-16. 
  4. ↑ (1991) Yearbook on international communist affairs, 25, Yearbook on International Communist Affairs series 235, Hoover Institution Press, 483. ISBN 978-0-8179-9161-6. 
  5. ↑ (1983) The demand for energy in the Soviet Union. Taylor & Francis, 36. ISBN 9780709927044. Retrieved on 2009-11-26. 
  6. ↑ (1986) International petroleum encyclopedia 20. PennWell Pub. Co., 157. 
  7. ↑ American Geographical Society of New York (1982). Soviet geography 23. Scripta Pub. Co., 286. 
  8. ↑ (1984) USSR facts & figures annual 8. Academic International Press, 146. 
  9. ↑ "Gazprom and SOCAR signed MOU on sale of Azerbaijani gas with shipments starting in 2010" (in Russian), OilCapital.ru Information Resources (2009-03-30). Retrieved on 2009-11-16. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Russia: Moscow's Grip on Caucasus Energy Tightens", Strafor Global Intelligence. Retrieved on 2009-11-16. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Vladimir Socor (2009-10-15). "Azerbaijan-Russia Gas Agreement: Implications for Nabucco Project", Eurasia Daily Monitor. Retrieved on 2009-11-16. 
  12. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  13. ↑ U.Ismayilov; E.Ismayilov (2009-10-02). "From January, Azerbaijan to export 1.5mln cu.m of gas to Russia per year", Trend News Agency. Retrieved on 2009-11-26. 
  14. ↑ {{cite paper | url= http://download.inogate.org/1st%20INTERIM%20REPORT/ANNEXES/Annex%2020b%20Brief%20report%20GMS.pdf | title= Brief report on the current operational status of Kazakh GMS and Shirvanovka GMS | publisher= INOGATE | format = PDF
  15. ↑ Yuri M. Zhukov (2006-07-12). "Addressing Pipeline Security Challenges in Russia", EurasiaNet. Retrieved on 2009-11-26. 
  16. ↑ Stephen Bierman (2010-01-13). "Russian Pipeline Blast Leaves 200,000 Without Gas, Vesti Says", Bloomberg. Retrieved on 2010-01-13. 
  17. ↑ "Some 215,000 people were left without the gas supply in 100 settlements over Dagestan gas pipe blast", ITAR-TASS (2010-01-13). Retrieved on 2010-01-13. 
  18. ↑ "Bomb cuts gas supplies in Dagestan, Russia", BBC News (2010-01-13). Retrieved on 2010-01-13. 
  19. ↑ S.Aliyev, E.Ismayilov (2010-01-13). "Explosion on the pipe in Dagestan has not prevented the export of Azerbaijani gas to Russia", Trend News Agency. Retrieved on 2010-01-13. 

Related SourceWatch articles

Existing Pipelines in Russia

External resources

External articles

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