Romania seeks to revive AGRI gas project with Turkmenistan

Romania has proposed reviving the AGRI (Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector) gas project to create a direct route for Turkmen gas to the European market, according to Turkmennebit, citing the Turkmen Embassy in Romania.

The proposal was put forward by Mihai Daraban, President of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, during talks with Turkmenistan's Ambassador to Romania, Annammammet Annayev.

The two sides discussed prospects for energy cooperation and closer links between the ports of Constanța and Turkmenbashi. Daraban said Turkmenistan already has a gas pipeline reaching the Caspian Sea, providing the technical basis for the project's implementation.

He said the Port of Constanța could serve as the entry point for Turkmen gas into Europe via transport infrastructure in Azerbaijan and Georgia, before connecting to the BRUA (Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria) gas pipeline.

Daraban said the project would require the creation of "a business core capable of bringing together energy companies from both countries", adding that energy remained one of the most important areas of cooperation in the current European context.

Annayev noted that Turkmenistan ranks fourth globally in proven natural gas reserves. He added that cooperation between the ports of Turkmenbashi and Constanța, alongside the establishment of a regional distribution hub for Turkmen goods in Constanța, could become a strategic pillar of bilateral economic relations.

The AGRI project, first proposed in the early 2010s, envisages transporting natural gas by pipeline from Azerbaijan to Georgia, where it would be liquefied on the Black Sea coast and shipped by tanker to Romania's Port of Constanța. The gas would then be regasified and fed into Romania's transmission network for onward delivery to Hungary and other European markets.