Energy policy of Russia and in a few cases explicit political demands are evident. Starting 1 January 2007 Gazprom increased the price of natural gas to Azerbaijan from US$110 to $235 per thousand cubic metres. (At the time, Gazprom charged the EU US$250.) Azerbaijan refused to pay this price and the gas supply to Azerbaijan stopped. On its side, Azerbaijan stopped oil exports to and via Russia. A year earlier, pro-Russian Armenia was hit with the same 100% price increase as Western-oriented Georgia, Vladimir Socor has observed. The Russia-Belarus energy dispute began when Russian state-owned gas supplier Gazprom demanded an increase in gas prices
Gazprom Neft limestone, which makes drilling difficult. Therefore, specialists are facing a more labor-intensive task. At the moment all these difficulties have been successfully overcome. Three development wells have now been constructed, successfully tested and their outputs have exceeded planned expectations. New innovative technologies are applied at Badra. Among them are: Solar panels can be another example of the usage of modern technologies. They allow the block valve station to work independently from electricity. The Badra oil field development consortium annually invests in education, medicine and other social projects in Iraq. In 2013 Gazprom Neft donated some buses to the University in