Agri LNG Plan For Post 2024

The Agri consortium planning to develop LNG transit terminals to ship Azeri gas across the Black Sea is aiming to start developing the project between 2024 and 2026. 

The Agri project aims to transit Azeri gas by pipeline to Georgia, where it will be liquefied and transported across the Black Sea to Romania for regasification and sale into the Romanian and Hungarian, and possibly other European markets.

Azerbaijan's Trend news agency quoted one of the four partners in the Agri project as saying that project development would start after the completion of work on developing new gas fields in the Azeri sector of the Caspian.

It is owned by four state companies: Azerbaijan's Socar, Georgia's GOGC, Romania's Romgaz and Hungary's MVM.

Socar has undertaken to expand the existing Azerbaijan-Georgia gas pipeline, independent of the Agri project which will involve building an LNG plant at Poti on the Georgian coast, the purchase of two 140,000 cu m capacity LNG tankers, as well as a regasification plant at Midia on the Romanian coast along with 160,000 cu m³ of LNG storage tanks. 

From Midia the project will involve the construction of 920km of new line linking to the Hungarian transit grid at Varosfold via the Romanian cities of Bucharest and Arad. Project spokesman Mitica Savu told NGW that a feasibility study for the project has been finalised, but that as yet no decision has yet been taken on the next step.
"Discussions are continuing," he said. 

The announcement of a projected timeline for the project comes as upstream operators in the Azeri Caspian are stepping up work on developing new resources.

BP's regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Gary Jones said earlier this week that BP will drill six wells under four exploration contracts in the Azeri sector of the Caspian over the coming two years, as well as expanding oil and gas production at existing production sites.

If it goes ahead the AGRI project could also be used to supply LNG to other LNG import terminals. However these would likely have to be confined to within the Black Sea as Turkey has long refused to permit the passage of LNG carriers through the Bosphorus, citing the danger to the city of Istanbul which straddles the southern end of the straits.

Currently all freight and passenger vessels passing through the Bosphorus are required to use a Turkish pilot.