Turkey, Georgia in gas-sharing agreement

TBILISI, Georgia – Turkey has agreed to give up some of its share of a giant Caspian gas field to Georgia, allowing the small Caucasus nation to reduce its need for expensive Russian gas, the Georgian energy minister said Sunday.

Nika Gilauri said in televised comments that Turkey had agreed to transfer to Georgia next year 800 million cubic meters of natural gas it was entitled to from the giant Shah Deniz field off Azerbaijan’s Caspian coast.

The minister said that the price remained to be fixed. Georgia has faced a doubling of the price it pays for Russian natural gas and is seeking alternative sources of supply.

Russian state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom said Friday that Georgia had agreed to buy 1.1 billion cubic meters of gas next year at $235 per 1,000 cubic meters