Today.Az » Business » Azerbaijan to create joint venture with three countries
25 July 2023 [15:46] - Today.Az
Azerbaijan will set up a joint venture with three countries to transfer "green energy" from the Caspian Sea to Europe, Azernews reports. Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov wrote about this on his Twitter. “In Bucharest, we signed a memorandum of understanding with colleagues from Georgia, Romania and Hungary on the establishment of a joint venture between the four countries to implement a project involving the transfer of green energy from the Caspian Sea to Europe,” the minister wrote. The joint venture will involve a 1,100 km (685 mile), 1,000 MW cable running from Azerbaijan to Romania. The European Commission has earmarked 2.3 billion euros ($2.4 billion) to support the construction of the cable, which would be the longest of its kind in the world. The project is part of the European Union's efforts to diversify energy resources away from Russia amid the Ukraine war. The cable is expected to be completed by the end of 2023 and will help to increase the capacity of the existing Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line.
In addition, the European Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding with Azerbaijan to double imports of Azeri natural gas to at least 20 billion cubic metres (bcm) a year by 2027. This will help to compensate for cuts in supplies of Russian gas and contribute significantly to Europe's security of supply. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which starts from Southeast Asia and China, runs through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, then Azerbaijan and Georgia and to further European countries. Georgia's Batumi and Poti Black Sea ports have been part of the regular feeder line of the route, while the state-run Georgian Railway has been a regular member of the route's coordinating committee. The agreement between Azerbaijan and the other three countries is an important step in the effort to diversify energy resources away from Russia and ensure Europe's security of supply.
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