Romania at the 8th Meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor

Romania participated in the eighth meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor. It is the fifth participation of Romania in this event, which is held annually in the Republic of Azerbaijan, in Baku.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, opened the meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, in the presence of European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson, of the Energy Ministers of the countries involved in the Southern Gas Corridor project, and also of the countries wishing to join this project.

During the intervention, Romanian Energy Minister Virgil Popescu conveyed to the members of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council the constant support of our country for this project and for its expansion plans.

“Romania reiterates the concrete proposal to include the transmission infrastructure offered by the Romania-Bulgaria Interconnector and the BRUA gas pipeline in the plan to extend the Southern Gas Corridor to the Balkans and Central Europe. We look forward to the positive evaluation of this proposal, as well as the initiation as soon as possible of discussions between all stakeholders, on the options offered by this regional transmission infrastructure. The growing interest of many states in the region in accessing volumes of Azerbaijani gas is a huge opportunity for the future development of the Southern Gas Corridor that should not be missed. Romania is ready to join the development efforts of the Southern Gas Corridor project, a strategic gas transmission infrastructure, necessary for the stability of Europe’s energy security. At the same time, I also conveyed that Romania supports, as a member state, the increase in the quantities of Azerbaijani gas imported in Europe as part of the process of diversification of gas sources at European level,” stated Energy Minister Virgil Popescu.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the most complex energy projects, involving the collaboration of seven countries and 11 energy companies, resulting in a 3,500-kilometer gas transmission system that has opened a new gas supply route for Europe.