Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania signed two agreements under the Interconnector (AGRI) project that seeks to export Azerbaijan’s liquefied gas to Europe.

The memorandum on establishing a joint venture and draft by-laws of the company were signed by the heads of Azerbaijan’s state energy firm SOCAR, Georgia’s Oil and Gas Corporation and Romania's gas company Romgaz.

The company will develop the feasibility study of the AGRI project and deal with such issues as drawing potential investors.

The joint venture will be based in Bucharest and operate under Romania's laws. Each participating country will hold an equal stake, but other companies may buy shares in the JV in the coming years.

In early October, the Azerbaijani-Georgian-Romanian taskforce is due to discuss and approve the company’s by-laws in Bucharest.

Azerbaijani gas will flow through pipelines to the Black Sea coast of Georgia, where it will be liquefied, and further by tankers to the Romanian port of Constanta. The gas will be transported to consumers in Romania and other European countries. Three options are on the agenda – supplying 2bn cubic meters of gas per year, 5bn cubic meters or 8bn cubic meters. Depending on the volume of supplies, capital investments in the project will vary from 1.2 billion euros to 4.5 billion euros. Final figures will become clear after the feasibility study has been prepared.