May 09, 2024 (MENAFN via COMTEX) --
(MENAFN - AzerNews)
Ulviyya Shahin Read more
Energy cooperation between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan is developingat an increasing pace, and already in 2024, Azerbaijan will cover55 natural gas needs of this Balkan state, Azernews reports.
The foundation of gas cooperation between the two states waslaid on September 13, 2013, when Bulgarian holding Bulgargaz EADsigned a 25-year contract with the Shah Deniz consortium for thepurchase of gas from this Azerbaijani gas condensate field in theCaspian Sea in the amount of one billion cubic meters of gas peryear.
"Bulgargaz EAD was among the nine European companies andholdings that signed long-term agreements for the purchase and saleof Shahdeniz gas in the fall of 2013, thanks to which the finalinvestment decision on the full-scale development of this field wasapproved in Baku on December 17, 2013, which launched the processof creating the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) and allowed Azerbaijanto enter the European market with its gas from December 2020.
The SGC project influenced Bulgaria's decision to build aconnection to this gas corridor, the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria(IGB), as well as to consider the possibility of transitingAzerbaijani gas through Bulgaria to other European countries.
SOCAR and Bulgartransgaz signed a Memorandum of Understanding onJuly 18, 2017, which reflected the opportunities for cooperationbetween the two companies on the prospects of creating additionalnatural gas supply routes through Bulgaria to other markets inSoutheast Europe, SOCAR's participation in the Balkan Gas Hub, aswell as the transit of additional volumes of natural gas from theSouth Gas Complex beyond the volumes agreed in 2013 with the ShahDeniz consortium.
All the set tasks have been realized, and Azerbaijan hasfulfilled and is fulfilling all its commitments.
Particularly, despite the delay in the construction of the IGB(the foundation of this gas pipeline was laid on May 22, 2019, andthe pipeline was commissioned in the summer of 2022), Azerbaijanensured gas supplies to Bulgaria already from the beginning of 2021through the Kulata-Sidirokastro delivery point on the existing gaspipeline from Bulgaria to Greece with a capacity of 10 millioncubic meters of gas per day.
Thanks to this, Bulgaria received more than 300 million cubicmeters of gas in 2021.
The combination of this route and the commissioning of the IGBgas pipeline on October 1, 2022, allowed Azerbaijan to supply atotal of 600 million cubic meters of gas to Bulgaria in 2022.
Following the negotiations between Azerbaijani President IlhamAliyev and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Baku on May 8, 2024,the results of gas supplies from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria in 2023 andplans for 2024 were announced in a press statement.
President Ilham Aliyev stated in his speech that "1 billion, 250million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas was transported to theBulgarian market last year."
"Our calculations indicate that by the end of this year, thevolume of export supplies of Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria willamount to 1.5 bcm. That is, expressing the language of the EuropeanCommission, Azerbaijan is expanding its activities in the Europeanspace as a pan-European gas supplier and spares no effort tosupport the solution of issues related to energy security," thehead of state noted.
According to him, Bulgaria has become an important transitcountry for gas transportation.
"Azerbaijani gas is currently exported from the territory ofBulgaria to its neighboring countries, and undoubtedly, the numberof these countries will grow in the future. That is, this is aconcrete result of our cooperation, a logical outcome of our verystrong bilateral relations, as our cooperation should have concreteresults. That is, the main goal of cooperation is to achieve betterresults. We see it both in the growth of trade turnover andcooperation in the energy sector," the press statement of Presidentof the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said.
Meanwhile, through the territory of Bulgaria, Azerbaijani gasgoes to Romania and Serbia.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev stressed after negotiations inBaku on May 8 that Azerbaijan has become an important and decisivepartner for Bulgaria in the energy sector and plays an importantrole in diversifying Bulgaria's gas supply.
"In the fall of 2022, with the participation of President IlhamAliyev in the city of Sofia, we started using the IGB gas networkand thus the Southern Gas Corridor connected to Central and EasternEurope," the Bulgarian President said.
SOCAR representative office has been operating in Sofia sinceApril 25, 2023, which not only deals with projects in Bulgaria butalso covers the entire Balkan region.
Viewing Azerbaijan as a reliable strategic partner, Bulgariaexpressed interest in SOCAR's assistance in the gasification of itssmall towns, and this initiative was reflected in the Memorandum ofUnderstanding signed on May 8, 2024, between the State Oil Companyof Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the Bulgarian holding Asarel (one of thelargest industrial holdings in the Balkan region).
The project of laying a "green" energy cable for future energysupplies from Azerbaijan's renewable energy sources facilitiesthrough Georgia and the Black Sea to Europe was also discussedduring the negotiations in Baku.
"Azerbaijan is working very actively in this direction withpartner countries, including Bulgaria. We believe that thefeasibility study of this project, which will be ready in a fewmonths, will be an excellent basis for the start of work. Thus,Azerbaijan will prove itself as a supplier to Europe not only ofoil and gas but also of "green" energy," President Ilham Aliyevemphasized on May 8.
The Head of State also stated that he invited President Radev toAzerbaijan to participate in the COP29 conference.
According to President Ilham Aliyev, the potential forcooperation between the two countries is wide.
Besides, Bulgarian companies will take part in "Baku EnergyWeek" in June, and the regular meeting of the Commission forCooperation between the governments of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria willbe held in early July.
Therefore, the interaction between the two countries isprogressive and important not only for bilateral but also formultilateral cooperation.
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