Georgia to hold talks with SOCAR over gas price
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
The Georgian government instructed by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili plans to hold talks with the Azerbaijani oil company SOCAR in an effort to avoid an increase in tariffs for natural gas in the country.
Following SOCAR's recent decision to raise the price of natural gas sold to commercial consumers in Georgia, a cubic meter of gas will be offered for $ 0.45 from March 1, according to the KazTransGas-Tbilisi company said.
The increase is linked to a significant drop in the rate of Georgia's national currency, lari. SOCAR does not plan to increase the tariff of natural gas sold to individuals.
"We must find ways to avoid the increase in gas prices. We had a communication with the representatives of SOCAR. They are absolutely willing to negotiate, so, I want to call on the two deputy prime ministers, together with the Economic Council, once again to resolve the issue in the shortest time," Garibashvili said.
The current tariff for natural gas in Tbilisi is around $0.23 per a cubic meter, increasing from $0.2 to $ 0.25 in the regions.
Kakha Kaladze, Energy Minister and Deputy Premier, said KazTransGas-Tbilisi and other companies that supply the capital city Tbilisi with natural gas faced serious problems due to lari depreciation.
"SOCAR announced that it was necessary to increase the tariffs for natural gas sold to commercial structures, except bakeries. Though, we have been discussing all the possibilities with SOCAR to avoid the price hike,” Kaladze added.
Azerbaijan meets more than 80 percent of Georgia's overall gas demands.
Meanwhile, Garibashvili urged the state bodies to take a necessary decision as soon as possible to remove all artificial barriers to businesses.
"Business is absolutely free in Georgia and everyone admits it. I would like to ask every ministry, municipalities, and all the decision makers to speed up the procedures and take decisions on time,” Garibashvili said.
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