Azerbaijan, Baku, July 23 / Trend, E.Ismayilov /
In September, it's scheduled to announce a tender for preparing a feasibility study (FS) of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector, which envisages possibility of supplying the Azerbaijani liquefied gas through Georgia's Black Sea coast to Romania, the Georgian Energy Minister Alexander Khetaguri said July 23.
He said within this project a trilateral protocol was signed at the ministerial level. At present, operations are underway to create a company in Romania, which in the first phase will prepare the feasibility study, and then the company will search investments and construct terminals in Georgia and Romania, as well as relevant infrastructure - on the territory of the project's all participant countries.
"While the question is about the fact that in fall of 2010, the company will be created, and it will have to attract funding to prepare the feasibility study. EU has many grants and it can finance the feasibility study of this project. The Company can attract the funding, announce tender for feasibility study of the project in September," Khetaguri said.
Within Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector project a trilateral working group was created, which will deal with establishment of the JV.
Memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of liquefied gas and its transportation under the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector project was signed in Bucharest April 13.
Georgia, Azerbaijan and Romania have signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint venture in a project to transport Azerbaijani gas to Europe May 12.
The project on supplies of Azerbaijani liquefied natural gas to Romania envisages the construction of two terminals for liquefied natural gas - one in Georgia, the other in Romania. According to preliminary data, the project cost will amount to 4.6 billion euros.
The project envisages transporting Azerbaijani gas via pipelines to the Black Sea coast of Georgia, where the gas will be liquefied at a special terminal, after which the gas will be delivered to the terminal in the Romanian port of Constanta by tankers. Later the liquefied gas will be brought into the state of natural gas and using the gas infrastructure available throughout the country will be sent to cover the needs of Romania and other European countries.