BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.3
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Black Sea has significant natural gas reserves and can be an area of interest in the context of Azerbaijan's substantial and constant efforts to identify new perimeters to supply the Southern Gas Corridor, Virgil-Daniel Popescu, Romanian Minister of Energy said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
“That could be a viable direction of action to diversify the supply sources for this project beyond those in the Caspian area. Establishing an energy transport Corridor between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, that would capitalize on the energy resources from the Caspian Sea area, on one hand, and the strategic position of Romania at the Black Sea as well as the significant resources from the Black Sea, on the other hand, has a significant potential of increasing regional energy security and also for the European Union in general. I would like to mention also that ROMGAZ, the Romanian gas producer, has concluded the negotiations and reached an Agreement with ExxonMobil on the terms and conditions related to the share package acquisition in the Neptun Deep perimeter from the Black Sea and the transaction will be completed by the end of this current quarter. We also hope to start the gas production as soon as possible this year in the Midia perimeter from the Black Sea, with 1 bcm / year,” he said.
Popescu noted that the very good bilateral relationship between Romania and Azerbaijan was an essential factor in the process that led to the entry of SOCAR on the Romanian market.
“Although SOCAR's activity focuses mainly on the offshore perimeters of the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea is an important energy bridge between Caspian region and the European market. Romania holds a strategic position in the Black Sea area and has the capacity to contribute to the transit of energy from the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea towards Central and Eastern Europe,” added the minister.
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