Baku, Azerbaijan, July 21
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
Energy remains the basis of cooperation between Sophia and Baku, Azerbaijani ambassador to Bulgaria Nargiz Gurbanova said in an interview with Trend.
"Azerbaijan regards Bulgaria not only as a country consuming Azerbaijani gas, but also as a transit country in the European area," she said.
The diplomat also stressed that Bulgaria fully supports the Southern Gas Corridor project, which envisages the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Europe and regards Azerbaijan as a key player in this project.
Azerbaijan and Bulgaria signed an agreement on the supply of one billion cubic meters of gas per year from 2020.
"Moreover, taking into account that gas production will increase in Azerbaijan from 2020 till 2030, the country’s government and SOCAR regard Bulgaria as a very important transit country, and in this context there are great chances to expand cooperation," the ambassador said.
"Two countries signed an agreement on the import of gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria in 2013, which will meet one-third of the country's needs," the diplomat said.
Gas from the Caspian region will be supplied to Bulgaria via a new gas pipeline between Azerbaijan and Greece - IGB.
IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.
At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.
As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans Adriatic Pipeline.