Bulgaria 'Ready for Azeri Energy': Sofia

Sofia and Baku can establish joint activities in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian country's president Rumen Radev said October 13. "We are interested in expanding co-operation with Azerbaijan in the energy sector, and we are ready for joint activities in the sphere of gasification of the domestic sector and the development of a network of filling stations in Bulgaria," Radev said in Baku, making a statement to the press jointly with Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev.

Radev said the Southern Gas Corridor, which will enable the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, will play an important role in diversifying the sources of gas supplies to southern and central Europe. State Bulgargas signed an agreement with the Shah Deniz consortium in 2013 to buy 1bn m³/yr from the Shah Deniz-2 project for 25 years starting from 2020.

The gas will be supplied from the TransAdriatic Pipeline project by way of the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector. TAP is due on line sometime in 2020, its landfall in Italy having encountered local difficulties with the administration, despite receiving the green light from Rome.

Ilham Shaban