Romanian state-owned natural gas producer Romgaz and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) have signed the first contract for natural gas deliveries from Azerbaijan to Romania.
The statement from Romgaz said that the signed contract allows for scheduled gas deliveries through the Southern Corridor starting 1 January, using the transportation capacities of the Trans- Adriatic (TAP) pipeline and the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector (IGB pipeline) , as well as those of the Bulgarian and Romanian transmission systems.
The contract also enables the acquisition of natural gas from Azerbaijan in order to satisfy potential domestic consumption needs with imported gas, thus enabling Romania to diversify its gas imports and reduce reliance on Russian natural gas.
The contract is based on a cooperation started earlier this year, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in June. In October, Romgaz signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SOCAR to explore the opportunity of jointly developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Black Sea.
