Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 17 / Trend E. Ismayilov /
Hungary appreciates Azerbaijan's opportunities in terms of energy security in the region, both within the European Union and at the level of bilateral relations, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Hungary Vilayat Guliyev said in an interview with Trend on Monday.
"As other EU countries, Hungary is interested in the diversification of energy supplies. From this point of view, Budapest seriously considers Azerbaijan's potential."
In particular, the country is one of the parties involved in the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI) project based on the Azerbaijani liquefied gas supplies through the Black Sea coast of Georgia to Romania.
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 project capacity, its costs will vary from 1.2 billion to 4.5 billion euros.
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.
Hungary shows great interest in the Nabucco pipeline project designed to diversify sources and routes of gas supplies to Europe.
"Of course, Hungary is among the countries wishing Azerbaijan's joining the Nabucco project," he said. "At present, Hungary is represented by MOL company in the Nabucco consortium."
Nabucco gas pipeline project is designed to supply gas from the Caspian region and Middle East to the EU. Participants of the project are Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE companies. Each of participants has equal share to the amount of 16.67 percent. Construction of gas pipeline is planned to be launched in 2013, the first supplies - in 2017. Maximal capacity of the pipeline will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year.