BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 1. Romania intends to step up efforts in a promising project to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Azerbaijan, potentially sourcing it from the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) terminal in the Georgian port of Kulevi and transporting it in its liquefied form to the Romanian port of Constanza city, said Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian-Ioan Burduja, Trend reports.
He made the statement during the 8th meeting of the Joint Commission on economic-trade relations and scientific-technical cooperation between the Government of Azerbaijan and Romania in Baku.
"Romania intends to develop LNG terminal projects in Constanza, and Azerbaijan is considering establishing an LNG terminal in the Black Sea region. Given Romania's importance as the conduit for Azerbaijani gas to Europe, this possible agreement might benefit both nations and the EU," he said.
Burduja also highlighted Romania's gas production and sales,
recognizing the importance of energy resources in economic
development.
According to an informed source, Romania intends to launch a
feasibility study for transporting Azerbaijani gas via the
Baku-Kulevi-Constanza route in 2023, as described in an agreement
agreed in October 2022 in Bucharest by SOCAR and Romania's
Romgaz.
"The project may entail establishing an LNG plant (in Kulevi), a regasification facility (in Constanza), and other essential infrastructure for transporting gas from the Caspian Sea to Romania. In essence, the discussion revolved around establishing two terminals—one on the eastern and one on the western shores of the Black Sea—which, according to the Romanian perspective, will contribute to diversifying gas supplies to Europe," the source emphasized.
According to him, the feasibility study may be ready in 2024.
"Romania aims to establish itself as a gas hub and is currently in negotiations with various gas-producing countries, Azerbaijan included. However, our stance will be better defined once we have reviewed the feasibility study," the source added.
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