Azernews.Az

KIEV – Hungary is expected to join the Azerbaijani-Georgian-Romanian energy project that will take liquefied gas from the Caspian region to Europe, Romanian President Traian Basescu has said, Ukrainian media reported.

Basescu said after talks held in Bucharest with Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi that Hungary’s joining the project was obvious, since the transportation system which connects Romanian and Hungarian gas networks will be ready by the end of 2010. The Hungarian network, in turn, will connect with the Austrian one, and, thus, LNG from the Caspian region could easily be supplied to the EU countries.

Under the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI) project, Romania, Azerbaijan and Georgia signed an agreement in Tbilisi on April 13 on the establishment of a joint venture. Azerbaijani gas will flow through pipelines to the Black Sea coast of Georgia, where the gas will be liquefied, and further by tankers to the Romanian port of Constanta. Gas will be transported to consumers in Romania and other European countries. The project is estimated at 4-6 billion euros.

In June, Ukraine’s energy minister Yuriy Boyko said that Kiev intends to join the project on the deliveries of Azerbaijani liquefied natural gas via the Black Sea to Romania, and buy about 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually.

The Ukrainian minister said a terminal to receive Azerbaijani gas is to be built in the Ukrainian town of Odessa at the Black Sea, but the project will take at least four years.