AGRI Pipeline to Increase Energy Security

The Head of State of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania have signed the 'Baku Declaration', a deal to create a transit corridor for natural gas that will bypass Russia and run directly from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

The Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI) natural gas pipeline will see the three countries participate in the construction of liquefied natural gas terminals in Georgia and Romania.

Azerbaijani gas will flow through pipelines to the Black Sea coast of Georgia and then onwards by tankers across the Black Sea to the Romanian port of Constanta where it  will be exported into the rest of Europe via existing pipelines.

Azerbaijan's state energy firm SOCAR said in a statement that state-run energy corporations in each country will hold equal stakes in the estimated $5 billion venture.

Hungary also agree to participate in the AGRI in a separate agreement.

Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natig Aliyev has said the AGRI project is not an alternative, but is complementary to the EU backed Nabucco pipeline project.

“Nabucco is an absolutely different project, it is of large scale and envisions supplies of up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas annually, which is to be delivered not only from the Caspian region and Central Asia, but also from Iran, Iraq, Egypt and other countries. Therefore, the AGRI project can’t be considered an alternative.”

The AGRI project is expected to supply up to eight billion cubic meters of gas a year.

AGRI, like Nabucco, is a step towards achieving greater energy security by decreasing the European Union’s dependence on Russian supplied gas.

Source: Azernews