Azerbaijan, Baku, June 14 /Trend/
Ukraine intends to join the project on delivery of Azerbaijani gas via the Black Sea to Romania and Bulgaria and to buy up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas, said Energy Minister Yuri Boyko said on the ether of the Inter TV channel, UNIAN news agency reported.
Construction of a transshipment terminal for liquefied natural gas will cost about $1 billion for Ukraine, said Boyko, noting that construction of the terminal is a "quick payback".
"We have a program with the European Union and within this program, the total funding is about 3 billion. We will offer this as one of the projects," said Boyko.
The minister said that already talks were held with Azerbaijani counterparts, who will build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Kulevi in Georgia with Romania and Bulgaria.
"And we'll be there as partners to buy certain volume of liquefied gas and supply it to our country through the terminal in Odessa. The program will last four years," said Boyko. "We expect that Ukraine will buy 5 billion cubic meters of gas at the first stage, and another five, total 10, at the second stage," he added.
In mid-April in Bucharest, Azerbaijan, Romania and Georgia signed a memorandum on cooperation in the field of liquefied gas. The project foreseeing Azerbaijani liquefied gas supplies to Romania envisages the construction of two terminals for liquefied natural gas - one in Georgia and other in Romania. According to preliminary data, the project cost will amount to 4.6 billion euro.
Memorandum on the implementation of this project was signed between Georgia and Romania in October 2009, and Azerbaijan and Romania - in the beginning of this year.
Today, the question is considered to construct a terminal processing of Azerbaijani gas at Georgia's Black Sea coast (SOCAR - State Oil Company of Azerbaijan - owns an oil terminal in Kulevi) and transporting it by ships to Romania or Bulgaria for onward shipment to domestic gas pipeline network in Europe.
The project is considered in two directions - LNG and CNG. First one is the construction of gas liquefaction plant, and the second - delivery of gas directly to the ship for its compression. This project deals with about 7-20 billion cubic meters of gas.
The Minister of Industry and Energy of Azerbaijan Natik Aliyev said formerly that the project on delivery of Azerbaijani liquefied natural gas via the Black Sea to Romania can be further expanded due to Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova's joining it.