View source for Mozdok–Makhachkala–Kazi Magomed pipeline

{{Infobox pipeline
| name        = Mozdok–Makhachkala–Kazi Magomed pipeline
| type        = natural gas
| photo       = 
| caption     = 
| map         = 
| map_caption = Location of Mozdok–Makhachkala–Kazi Magomed pipeline
| country     = [[Azerbaijan]], [[Russia]]
| coordinates = 
| operator    = [[SOCAR]], [[Gasprom]]
| partners    = 
| length_km   = 680
| discharge   = 13&nbsp;billion cubic meters per year
| direction   = south-north
| start       = [[Mozdok]], [[Russia]]
| finish      = [[Kazi Magomed]], [[Azerbaijan]]
| est         = 1983
| through     = [[Makhachkala]], [[Novo Filya]]
| par         = 
}}

The '''Mozdok–Makhachkala–Kazi Magomed pipeline''' is a natural gas pipeline from [[Mozdok]] in [[North Ossetia]] through [[Chechnya]] and [[Dagestan]] to [[Azerbaijan]].<ref name=wilson>
{{cite book
|last1= Wilson|first1=David
|last2= |first2=Geoffrey
|title= Soviet oil and gas to 1990
|volume= 2
|year= 1982
|publisher= Abt Books
|page=45}}
</ref>  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.<ref name="Vesti Kavkaza">
{{cite news
 | url= http://www.vestikavkaza.ru/news/ekonomika/gaz/7520.html
 | title= Gasprom held another round of talks with Azerbaijan
 | publisher= "Vesti Kavkaza"
 | author = 
 | date=2009-08-29
 | accessdate=2009-11-16
 | language = Russian
}}</ref>  The pipeline will be used for transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Russia starting from 1 January 2010.

==History==
In 1970–1979, [[Southern Caucasus]] republics of the [[Soviet Union]] were supplied by natural gas from [[Iran]].<ref name=staar>
{{cite book
|last1= Staar|first1=Richard Felix
|editor1-last= Staar|editor1-first=Richard Felix
|editor2-last= Drachkovitch|editor2-first=Milorad M.
|editor3-last= Gann|editor3-first=Lewis H.
|title= Yearbook on international communist affairs
|volume= 235
|issue= 408
|edition = 25
|year= 1991
|publisher= [[Hoover Institution Press]]
|page=483
|isbn=978-0-8179-9161-6}}
</ref>  After [[Iranian Revolution]] Iranian supplies were cut off.<ref name=wilson2>
{{cite book
|last1= Wilson|first1=David
|title= The demand for energy in the Soviet Union
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3RIQ-jhDwiEC&pg=PA36&dq=mozdok+pipeline#v=onepage&q=mozdok%20pipeline&f=false
|year= 1983
|publisher= [[Taylor & Francis]]
|page=36
|accessdate = 2009-11-26|isbn=9780709927044
}}
</ref>  To replace Iranian gas supplies from Western Siberia and [[Orenburg]] through [[Novopskov]] were planned.<ref name=wilson/>  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.<ref name=pennwell>
{{cite book
|title= International petroleum encyclopedia
|volume= 20
|year= 1986
|publisher= PennWell Pub. Co.
|page=157}}
</ref><ref name=scripta>
{{cite book
|title= Soviet geography
|volume= 23
|year= 1982
|publisher= Scripta Pub. Co.
|author= American Geographical Society of New York
|page=286}}
</ref>  The Mozdok–Makhachkala–Kazi Magomed pipeline was completed in 1983.<ref name=academic>
{{cite book
|title= USSR facts & figures annual
|volume= 8
|year= 1984
|publisher= Academic International Press
|page=146}}
</ref>

In 2007, Azerbaijan started its own gas production and the pipeline between Russia and Azerbaijan became largely inactive.  In the summer of 2008, [[Gasprom]] started negotiations with [[State Oil Company of Azerbaijan]] on buying natural gas from Azerbaijan at market prices based on long term agreement between 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.<ref name>{{cite news
 | url= http://www.oilcapital.ru/news/2009/03/300940_137403.shtml
 | title= Gasprom and SOCAR signed MOU on sale of Azerbaijani gas with shipments starting in 2010
 | publisher= OilCapital.ru Information Resources
 | author = 
 | date=2009-03-30
 | accessdate=2009-11-16
 | language = Russian
}}</ref>

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 agreement, Russia would be paying Azerbaijan $350 per thousand cubic meters while paying only $300 per thousand cubic meters for [[Uzbekistan|Uzbek]] and [[Turkmenistan|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.<ref name="Russia: Moscow's Grip on Caucasus Energy Tightens">{{cite news
 | url = http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20090630_russia_moscows_grip_caucasus_energy_tightens
 | title = Russia: Moscow's Grip on Caucasus Energy Tightens
 | publisher = [[Stratfor|Strafor Global Intelligence]]
 | accessdate = 2009-11-16
}}</ref> 
On 14 October 2009, President of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, [[Rovnag Abdullayev]] and CEO of Gasprom, [[Alexei Miller]], finalized the deal. The agreement oversees the exports for 2010-2014 with a potential for extension.<ref name="Azerbaijan-Russia Gas Agreement">{{cite news
 | url= http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Bswords%5D=8fd5893941d69d0be3f378576261ae3e&tx_ttnews%5Bany_of_the_words%5D=PKK&tx_ttnews%5Bpointer%5D=3&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=35615&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=48b4642cf5
 | title= Azerbaijan-Russia Gas Agreement: Implications for Nabucco Project
 | publisher= Eurasia Daily Monitor
 | author = [[Vladimir Socor]]
 | date=2009-10-15
 | volume=6
 | issue=189
 | accessdate=2009-11-16
}}</ref>  
Azerbaijani natural gas would be transported via the Baku-Novo Filya pipeline, which was previously used for transporting of natural gas from Russian to Azerbaijan, until 2007, when the shipments were stopped by Azerbaijan as a result of internal self-sufficient production. On January 21, during the meeting between Alexey Miller and Rovnag Abdullayev Gasprom expressed its willingness to purchase more gas from Azerbaijan. The parties agreed to double the amount of gas to be transport during 2010 from initially planned 500 million cm to 1 billion cm and yet increase the amount to 2 billion cm in 2011.<ref>
{{Cite press release
 | title = On working meeting between Alexey Miller and Rovnag Abdullayev
 | publisher = [[Gasprom]]
 | date = January 21, 2010
 | url = http://www.gazprom.com/press/news/2010/january/article75182/
 | accessdate = 21 January 2010}}</ref>
Starting from 2007, Azerbaijan became exporter of natural gas by starting its shipments to Georgia and Turkey.

==Technical features==
The overall length of the pipeline is {{convert|680|km|mi}}, of which {{convert|200|km|mi}} in Azerbaijan. The pipe diameter is  {{convert|1220|mm|in}} and it had original capacity of 13&nbsp;billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.<ref name=wilson/><ref name="Vesti Kavkaza"/>  The operating capacity is around 5&nbsp;bcm.<ref name=trend021009>
{{cite news
 | url= http://en.trend.az/capital/pengineering/1550877.html
 | title= From January, Azerbaijan to export 1.5mln cu.m of gas to Russia per year
 | publisher= [[Trend News Agency|Trend Capital]]
 | author = U.Ismayilov; E.Ismayilov
 | date=2009-10-02
 | accessdate=2009-11-26}}
</ref>  It has a gas metering station in [[Şirvanovka]], built in 2003.<ref name=inogate>
{{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
 | accessdate=2009-11-26}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}
</ref>  In Mozdok, the pipeline is connected with North Caucasus–Moscow line.<ref name=wilson/>

==Political perspective==
Experts argue that the significance of the deal is high both for Azerbaijan and Russia. 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 (compare to $300 per tcm for Uzbek and Turkmen gas), thus hoping to decrease prospects of other potential gas export projects from or through Azerbaijan such as Nabucco or White Stream.<ref name="Azerbaijan-Russia Gas Agreement"/>
Controlling flows of natural gas to Europe is at the forefront of Russian foreign policy and whether the gas exported to Europe is produced in Russia or is coming from elsewhere through Russia, Russia likes to keep an economic control over Europe thus exerting political pressure on the continent and the West as whole through vital energy exports. Russia's production of natural gas in 2008 equalled to 602&nbsp;billion cubic meters and 154&nbsp;bcm of it was exported to Europe and Turkey. A much smaller amount of gas to be received from Azerbaijan at higher prices through the Baku-Novo Filya pipeline and the notion that Russia is charging European importers $280 per thousand cubic meters (much lower than it's willing to pay Azerbaijan), proves Russia's ambitious long term intentions.

Up to 2007, Azerbaijan was a Russian gas importer until country's production of 10.3 bcm per year brought self-sufficiency for internal demand of 8.3 bcm. Azerbaijan's [[Shah Deniz]] field is to produce approximately 9 bcm per year, whilst Shah Deniz II is believed to produce 10-12 bcm per year when it becomes operational.<ref name="Russia: Moscow's Grip on Caucasus Energy Tightens"/>

== Security ==
During the 1990s–2000s, the pipeline was attacked several times in Chechenya and Dagestan.<ref name=eurasianet120706>
{{cite news
 | url= http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav120706a.shtml
 | title= Addressing Pipeline Security Challenges in Russia
 | publisher= EurasiaNet
 | author = Yuri M. Zhukov
 | date=2006-07-12
 | accessdate=2009-11-26}}
</ref>  On 12 January 2010, the pipeline was targeted at its 496th kilometer by a bomb blast on the branch line supplying [[Derbent]] and [[Derbentsky District|surrounding regions]] in  Dagestan, causing fire and leaving 214,000&nbsp;people without gas supply.<ref name=bloomberg130110>
{{cite news
 | url= https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adPciUiOTGZU
 | title= Russian Pipeline Blast Leaves 200,000 Without Gas, Vesti Says
 | author = Stephen Bierman
 | publisher= [[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]]
 | date=2010-01-13
 | accessdate=2010-01-13}}
</ref><ref name=itar-tass130110>
{{cite news
 | url= http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14713751&PageNum=0
 | title= Some 215,000 people were left without the gas supply in 100 settlements over Dagestan gas pipe blast
 | publisher= [[ITAR-TASS]]
 | date=2010-01-13
 | accessdate=2010-01-13}}
</ref><ref name=bbc130110>
{{cite news
 | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8456319.stm
 | title= Bomb cuts gas supplies in Dagestan, Russia
 | publisher= [[BBC News]]
 | date=2010-01-13
 | accessdate=2010-01-13}}
</ref>  Gas supplies from Azerbaijan by the main trunk line continued by reduced volume.<ref name=trend130110>
{{cite news
 | url= http://en.trend.az/capital/pengineering/1616904.html
 | title= Explosion on the pipe in Dagestan has not prevented the export of Azerbaijani gas to Russia
 | author = S.Aliyev, E.Ismayilov
 | publisher= [[Trend News Agency|Trend Capital]]
 | date=2010-01-13
 | accessdate=2010-01-13}}
</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Azerbaijan|Russia|Energy}}
*[[Shah Deniz gas field]]
*[[Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline]]
*[[Baku–Novorossiysk Pipeline]]
*[[Nabucco pipeline]]
*[[White Stream]]
*[[Nord Stream]]
*[[South Stream]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mozdok-Makhachkala-Kazi Magomed pipeline}}
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1983]]
[[Category:Natural gas pipelines in Russia]]
[[Category:Natural gas pipelines in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Gazprom pipelines]]
[[Category:Caspian Sea]]
[[Category:Azerbaijan–Russia relations]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Energy in the Soviet Union]]