Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 14 /Trend, E.Ismayilov/
A tender was announced for selection of a contractor who will prepare a feasibility study for the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI) project, President of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) Rovnag Abdullayev said on Wednesday.
"Work on AGRI project continues, a joint venture has been established between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania. Work is underway for preparation for a feasibility study, in particular, a tender has already been announced," said Abdullayev.
He said AGRI is one of the additional routes for gas supplies, which is considered by SOCAR in order to diversify the transit for gas transportation.
All companies-participants of the project are willing to finance the preparation of the feasibility study, SOCAR's senior representative said earlier.
The amount of funds required to prepare the feasibility study, will be known after the submission of proposals to the design company that will won a tender to be announced soon.
Earlier, the joint venture was registered in Romania within the AGRI project. The joint company will prepare a feasibility study of the new project before seeking funding. Participants of the project are Azerbaijani SOCAR, Oil and Gas Corporation of Georgia, the Romanian ROMGAZ and Hungarian MVM. Each participating country holds a 25 percent share. A future project partner may be Bulgaria.
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 using tankers. Later, the liquefied gas will be brought into the state of natural gas and directed towards covering the needs of Romania and other European countries.
It is expected that Turkmenistan, by participating in the project as a supplier, could supply liquefied natural gas across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan for further transit to Europe.
The cost of the AGRI project can vary from 1.2 billion to 4.5 billion euros.