Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania established a liquefied gas transport enterprise
Competition in the energy delivery sphere in the Eastern Black Sea is hotting up. There is a new gas delivery plan, in addition to Nabucco and South Stream, whereby gas will be transported from Azerbaijan, through Georgia and across the Black Sea to Romania via tankers. The agreement to establish the enterprise was signed in mid-May in
Tbilisi. Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natik Aliyev, Romanian Minister of Economy, Trade and Business Adrian Vidianu and Georgian Energy Minister Alexander Khetaguri signed a document based on the memorandum of mutual understanding formalized a month ago in Bucharest. Khetaguri said that this project will complement Nabucco, not compete with it.
The enterprise is called AGRI (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania Interconnection) and will be established in Bucharest within a month after the signing. In the first stage the corporation will analyze the technical-economic aspects and invite investors.
A source in the Georgian international oil and gas corporation told VK that each participant has a share of 33.333%. Each side will have equal say in decision-making. According to the VK source, the gas refinery will process from a minimum of 2 billion to a maximum of 7 billion cubic metres annually. Preliminary expenses are estimated at $600 million.
This project is especially important for Georgia, since it lacks its own energy resources. AGRI would be a significant project for diversifying imports and exports of energy carriers.
