SOCAR plans to bring Azerbaijani gas system on par with world standards in five years, Rovnag Abdullayev said Feb.2. "Preliminary engineering shows that about 3-4 billion...

 will be invested for 95 percent gasification of Azerbaijan and the construction of a new system which will meet world standards," Abdullayev said. He said that, now, operations on seeking financing are stopped. "We mobilize all our resources for the implementation of these operations," Abdullayev added. He said the company plans to switch all counters and gas systems operating with the smart-card system to automatic mode. Replacement of counters around the country will be carried out by the State Oil Company. At the moment, there are large losses in the country's gas system, which will be minimized in a year.

The company also conducts operations on improving gas supply to Baku and Absheron Peninsula. "We held talks and signed a memorandum with Europe's large gas distributing company E.ON," Abdullayev said. Now, preparation of a feasibility study and designing are being executed within this project. Abdullayev said that initial results have been already received. "E.ON has great experience. Based on their experience, we are conducting operations on the project of reconstruction of gas facilities in Azerbaijan," he said. According to Abdullayev, currently, the company is carrying out structural changes in the "Azerigas" Production Unit. SOCAR operates within international standards and a four-stage system should not be in accordance to international standards. All gas operations in Azerbaijan will be realized online. The company also decided to liquidate the gas department, as well structures dealing with gas distributing in the country's regions. "Because these structures are not needed in the new system," Abdullayev said.