Minister: New route for natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan to Europe being created today

A new route for natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan to Europe is being created today, Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov said at an event dedicated to the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the development of cooperation among the gas transmission system operators of Bulgaria (Bulgartransgaz), Romania (Transgaz), Hungary (FGSZ), Slovakia (Eustream) and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Report informs.

“Today, thanks to the stable policy of the head of state, we are witnessing the construction of a new route for natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan to Europe. Thanks to this project, the participating countries can become an important link in gas supplies,” the minister said.

He noted that this project will provide natural gas from Azerbaijan with access to additional markets through an alternative route.

“Azerbaijan is a country that has been playing a strategic role in the reliable and stable energy supply of our partners for more than two years, thanks to the Southern Gas Corridor project. In today’s realities, it is very important to fully support the development of such infrastructure projects that ensure the delivery of natural gas from a reliable source to Europe and diversification of supplies. The implementation of the Solidarity Ring (STRING) initiative will allow participating countries not only to import gas from alternative sources, but also become important links in gas transit. The initiative also presents opportunities for expanding the Southern Gas Corridor project, contributing to the implementation of the terms of the memorandum of understanding in the field of energy between EU and Azerbaijan,” Shahbazov said.

The signed Memorandum defines the areas of cooperation for the supply of additional volumes of gas from Azerbaijan to Europe through the modernized “Solidarity Ring.”

The STRING initiative was proposed by Bulgaria and supported by the European Commission to improve the security of natural gas supplies to the European Union, Central and South-Eastern Europe.