Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 25 / Trend A. Akhundov /
The feasibility study of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romanian Interconnector (AGRI) project will be prepared by the summer of 2012, Hungarian Deputy Secretary of State for Green Economy Development and Climate, Affairs of the Hungarian National Economy Ministry Peter Olajos told Trend in Baku. This project involves Azerbaijani liquefied gas supplies via the Black Sea to Romania.
"The capacity, project cost, and the impact of the pipeline on the environment will be determined as a result of appraisal work," he said.
The AGRI project envisages transporting Azerbaijani gas via pipelines to the Black Sea coast of Georgia, where the gas will be liquefied at a special terminal. The gas will then be delivered to a terminal at the Romanian port of Constanta via tankers. Later, the liquefied gas will be brought into the state of natural gas and will be directed towards covering the needs of Romania and other European countries.
He also did not rule out the possibility of new members joining the project.
"If anyone is interested in this project, and if it is profitable to current participants, then we cannot exclude the participation of new members in the project," he said.
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary signed the Baku Declaration on the draft AGRI on Sept. 14 in Baku.
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania signed "A Joint Declaration" on the AGRI project in Bucharest on Feb. 14, under which Hungary has become its full member. The signed document stressed the need to support the companies participating in the project in attracting the necessary funding for the feasibility study. The paper notes that under the increased work means finding the shortest route of delivery of Azerbaijani gas to European markets, the creation of Interconnector Romania - Hungary (Arad-Szeged).
Earlier, the joint venture was registered in Romania within the AGRI project. The joint company will prepare a feasibility study of the new project and seek funding. The company is being established in Romania. The participants are Azerbaijani, Romanian and Georgian sides.
The capacity of the AGRI Project is considered in three variants - 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year, 5 billion cubic meters and 8 billion cubic meters. According to preliminary data, depending on the capacity of the project, the cost varies from 1.2 billion to 4.5 billion euro.
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