Azernews.Az

ASHGABAT – Turkmenistan has said it was seeking participation in the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI) gas pipeline project "at a high level".

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov made the announcement in a joint statement issued with his Romanian counterpart Traian Basescu during his three-day visit to Bucharest that ended on Friday.

The two countries stressed the importance of Turkmen natural gas supplies to European markets, including through Nabucco and AGRI pipelines that are a priority for Romania.

In addition, the two countries expressed support for diversification of supply sources and their supply routes as the main goal in ensuring energy security at the regional and global levels.

The AGRI project envisages transporting Azerbaijani gas to Romania via the Black Sea coast of Georgia where the gas will be liquefied at an LNG terminal. The LNG will then be delivered to a terminal at the Romanian port of Constanta via tankers. The gas volumes will meet the needs of Romania and other European countries.

Turkmenistan could supply liquefied natural gas across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan for its further transit to Europe.

Three options are considered for the capacity of the AGRI project - 2 billion cubic meters of gas per year, 5bn cubic meters and 8bn cubic meters.

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary signed an agreement on the AGRI project in Baku last September.

As for the Nabucco pipeline, a 300-kilometer link to the Azerbaijani coast is to be built under the Caspian Sea for Turkmenistan to join the project.

The Nabucco pipeline will carry up to 31 billion cubic meters a year of gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey into southeast Europe and onwards to an Austrian trading hub, bypassing Russia. According to the pipeline consortium, construction is due to start in 2013 and operations in 2017. Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iraq are potential suppliers for the Nabucco pipeline.