Baku, Sofia eye expanded energy cooperation
By Nigar Abbasova
The energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria bears a strategic character, said Bulgarian Ambassador to Baku Maya Khristova.
She said that Bulgaria is satisfied with strong support of Azerbaijan in the process of negotiation with the Shah Deniz Consortium, mentioning that the support allowed to conclude a long-term deal on the deliveries of natural gas in the volume of one billion cubic meters (bcm) from the Shah Deniz Stage 2 to Bulgaria starting from 2020.
The envoy made the remarks addressing the meeting with the delegation led by President and Editor-in-Chief of Caspian Energy International Media Group Natalya Aliyeva.
She recalled that energy ministries of the countries signed a MoU in the energy sphere in November 13, 2009. Moreover, Azerbaijan’s state oil company (SOCAR) also has MoU’s with Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and Bulgartransgaz.
The ambassador also hailed the operation of the Joint Gas and Oil Working Group, which is represented by the Bulgarian Energy Ministry, BEH and SOCAR, mentioning that the group is an important and successful instrument for the development of energy cooperation between the two countries.
Moreover, the envoy highlighted the successful operation of the intergovernmental commission between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, underlining the signing of over 60 bilateral agreements between the sides.
As for the implementation of Bulgarian gas hub project, Khristova said that its establishment suggests the use of many gas sources, including supplies from Russia, interconnector from Greece and other energy terminals.
Bulgaria seeks to become the main gas transit country for South Eastern and Central Europe, while the project and its financial plan are being developed by the Bulgarian government jointly with the European Commission.
The gas for the project is expected to be supplied from Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, as well as from Romanian and Bulgarian fields. The diversification of natural gas resources and the routes delivering natural gas to Bulgaria is vital for the country. Also, the country may act as a transit-state for the supplies of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, as the talks on delivering Azerbaijani gas via the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) continue.
The IGB project, (Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria), which ranks in the list of European Commission's seven priority projects for energy supply, 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 via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets. The 180-km pipeline is to be built by a Bulgarian-Greek joint venture that also includes Italian energy group Edison SpA.
Azerbaijan and Bulgaria have developed friendly relations after Bulgaria recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in January 1992. The embassy of Bulgaria in Azerbaijan was opened in December 1999.
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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova
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