Romania signs strategic partnership with Azerbaijan
Nine O'Clock, September 29, 2009

Azerbaijan Gas AGRI Deal
Cotidianul, July 20, 2016

Nabucco pipeline collapse has forced the authorities in Bucharest to focus on gigantic projects that can strengthen energy security of the country. One of these is the AGRI pipeline system and terminals for liquefaction or regasification, linking the port of Constanta to source gas from Azerbaijan, Georgia-Black Sea route. Specifically, the gas in Azerbaijan, a country with a huge potential for hydrocarbons will be transported to the Port of Batumi in Georgia by pipeline.

Batumi, the gas will be liquefied and then transported to the Black Sea, with LNG to Constanta, where through another terminal is regazeifica˘. And finally, the gas is introduced into Romanian pipes and sent where needed. Gas volumes are intended primarily to ensure consumption of Romania and Hungary, the rest being directed to other potential markets in Europe, highlighted in the Feasibility Study .. The total investment is 4.5 billion, and the project company is as shareholders four companies: SOCAR (Azerbaijan), GOGC (Georgia), Romgaz (Romania) and MVM (Hungary). According to the Azerbaijani news agency Azertac News, Transgaz, the national carrier gas, oil company Socar signed with the state-controlled Azerbaijani memorandum on the construction of terminals for importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) project AGRI.

This project, called Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector, aims to transport up to 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from the Caspian region to Romania and total investment could reach 4.5 billion euros. The feasibility study was completed at the end of 2014 and the findings were positive. They point out that two of feasible scenarios analyzed capacity, and 5 bcm / year and 8 billion cubic meters / year. Romania annually consumes about 12-13 billion cubic meters, of which about 11 billion cubic meters of production being assured OMV Petrom and Romgaz. The rest comes from Russia by pipeline entering the country from Isaccea and one in Medies¸ul Gilt, in the north. A small portion comes by pipeline opened in recent years Szeged-Arad.After a break of four years, makers of states participating in the project met last year to call on his feet. A year ago, took place in Bucharest works Meeting inter-ministerial AGRI project, which was attended by Andrei Gere, Energy Minister then in Romania, Natig Aliyev, Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan, and Mariam Valishvili, Deputy Energy Minister Georgia. Botond from Hungary participated Zakonyi ambassador of this country in Romania. Those present AGRI intends to promote at EU level. Very little dependent on Russian gas, Romania pressed the accelerator and wants to become an exporter of oil and also an indispensable bridge for gas from Azerbaijan.

Our country thus put shoulder to the global effort to minimize pressure Moscow over energy world, particularly on Europe. Unfortunately for the authorities in Bucharest, Nabucco, which provided transport gas via a pipeline that would go from Azerbaijan via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, with the terminus Austria, he fell, being chosen alternative TAP by Greece and under the Adriatic to Italy.

President Traian Basescu has signed yesterday with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev a strategic partnership between the two countries, with its goals including energy cooperation on the Nabucco project, the Constanta-Trieste oil pipeline and the liquefied natural gas terminal in Constanta. ‘We have signed a strategic partnership along with five other Government documents, a strategic partnership that has several goals, namely: consolidating political dialogue, energy cooperation, economic and investment cooperation, security cooperation, cooperation within international organizations and cultural cooperation. The energy cooperation consists of the Nabucco project but also the PEOP project and the liquefied natural gas terminal in Constanta. The PEOP project is the Constanta-Trieste oil pipeline’ President Traian Basescu stated, being quoted by Mediafax.

He also pointed out that the members of the two delegations have also talked about regional issues. ‘A special subject consisted of frozen conflicts, and in what concerns Nagorno-Karabakh our position remains firm. Any frozen conflict of this kind can be solved only peacefully, within the existing international mechanisms and with respect for the territorial integrity of states, in accordance with international law,’ the Romanian Head of State concluded.

At the same time President Basescu also announced that Socar, Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company, seeks to expand its activity in the EU through Romania, a project that can become a reality by hiking the oil storage capacity of the Constanta harbor.

In his turn, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has stated that the declaration on the strategic partnership is only a consequence, a logical follow-up of the bilateral relation’s development. He stated that from a political point of view the relations between Romania and Azerbaijan are at the highest level. ‘In what concerns the economic level, we have very good projects such as those in the oil and natural gas sectors, projects that we will have to take advantage of in order to bring the economic relations at the highest level. Azerbaijan has very good oil and natural gas resources that can be successfully transported to European markets. If the transit agreements will be signed by a part of the countries involved, then the transportation of oil and natural gas to Europe will be done without problems,’ the Azeri President added.

In other developments, Eldar Hasanov, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Romania, has stated in an interview for ‘Ziua’ daily that his country is ready to supply natural gas for Nabucco and that the cooperation between our countries is getting deeper and stronger with each year that passes. ‘For Azerbaijan, Romania is also the country that offers us support for our integration in Euro-Atlantic structures from its position as NATO and EU member,’ the Azeri Ambassador added. In what concerns the Nabucco project, His Excellency Eldar Hasanov stated that Azerbaijan has significant natural gas reserves, is interested in this project and is ready to take part in it.