SOCAR keen on privatization of Armenia-bound gas pipeline
BAKU – Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR considers the possibility to use existing gas pipelines on the Georgian territory, including the Georgian section of pipeline that exports Russian gas to Armenia, for gas transit, the SOCAR president Rovnag Abdullayev said in talks held with Georgian Energy Minister Alexander Khetaguri and head of the Oil and Gas Corporation, Zurab Janjgava, SOCAR said.
Abdullayev expressed confidence that using the existing infrastructure in Georgia will accelerate the implementation of the project Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romanian Interconnector (AGRI), which envisages supplying Azerbaijani liquefied gas through Georgia and the Black Sea to Romania.
According to the SOCAR chief, if the Georgian government decides on the privatization of the pipeline that exports Russian gas to Armenia, SOCAR can make an interest in these assets.
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary signed the Baku Declaration on AGRI project in Baku Sept. 14. The project envisages transporting Azerbaijani gas via pipelines to the Black Sea coast of Georgia, where the gas will be liquefied at a special terminal. The gas will then be delivered to a terminal at the Romanian port of Constanta via tankers.
Three capacity volumes are being considered for the project: 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year, 5 billion cubic meters and 8 billion cubic meters. The cost is initially estimated at 1.2 billion to 4.5 billion euros depending on capacity.