OREANDA-NEWS. September 7, 2011. Azerbaijan is prepared to increase oil transits via Russia through the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline if the current agreement is amended to allow Azerbaijan to transit not only its own oil, Azeri Industry and Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said.


Russia and Azerbaijan held talks in Baku on Tuesday to amend the oil transit agreement dated January 1996.

 If the provision allowing transiting only Azeri oil via the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline is cancelled, Azerbaijan could also pump Kazakh and Turkmen oil via this pipeline, Aliyev said.

 The parties also discussed oil transportation tariffs. They are going to determine the volume of oil transits eligible for a lower tariff, which is also expected to push up oil transportation, the Azeri minister said.