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Romania eyes to assess opportunities for expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Oil&Gas Materials 15 July 2020 15:03 (UTC +04:00)
Romania eyes to assess opportunities for expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 15

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

Romania looks forward to resuming the talks with the Azerbaijani side as soon as the overall epidemic situation allows, considering the expected completion of the last segment of the Southern Gas Corridor and of the BRUA gas pipeline as well as to assess all the opportunities for expanding and consolidating the Romanian-Azerbaijani cooperation in the energy sector, Niculae Havrileț, State Secretary of the Ministry for Economy, Energy and Business Environment of Romania, told Trend.

“It is worth mentioning also that the decisions adopted at EU level on the energy transition towards a sustainable and decarbonized economy might further shift trends in the natural gas industry. This in turn require, in our view, quick steps to capitalize on all the opportunities we currently have in this sector at various levels - exploration, exploitation, underground storage, transport infrastructure etc. Therefore, every infrastructure project must maintain and strengthen its competitiveness in an ever more volatile and demanding environment,” said the state secretary.

Havrileț said that Romania and Azerbaijan have a very solid Energy Partnership, which is integral to Strategic Partnership and recognizes the increasingly important role Azerbaijan is playing for the security of gas supply in Europe's energy landscape.

“From the beginning, Romania has been a constant and firm supporter of the Southern Gas Corridor project, nearing its completion and undoubtedly essential for the diversification of routes and sources of supply on the European market. Azerbaijan’s central role in the SGC, through its contribution in gas production and transport is well defined and appreciated,” said the state secretary.

He pointed out that the European market is facing a new energy reality, marked by events that have significantly changed the gas markets.

“We are currently trying to answer to the unprecedented effects of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic crisis, which have manifested dramatically in the natural gas market, a market that requires more than ever effective efforts to revive demand and consumption severely disrupted during this period,” noted the state secretary.

Havrileț noted that on its side, Romania will thus consolidate its position on the map of the major energy infrastructure projects, by implementing the Bulgaria – Romania Hungary – Austria/BRUA pipeline, which is an essential component of the regional network through the Vertical Gas Corridor.

“The project, developed by the Transgaz company (the Romanian transport system operator) on the Romanian territory, is integral part of the National Natural Gas Transmission System, and upon implementation, it will physically ensure the permanent reverse flow for interconnections with Bulgaria and Hungary; more specifically, after the completion of Phase I in October, it will ensure a transport capacity to Hungary of 1.75 billion cubic meters / year, respectively 1.5 billion cubic meters / year to Bulgaria. The BRUA project will be completed in October 2020 and will serve the objectives sought out by SGC by opening up important regional business opportunities for both Romania and Azerbaijan. At the same time, we welcome the progress made on the Interconnector between Bulgaria and Greece, an important link in the regional gas transmission grid, and We hope that the project promoters will ensure completion within the deadline of Q2 2021,” he added.

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