The State Oil company of Azerbaijan has opportunities to expand its presence in Romania, said Niculae Havrilet, Romanian state Secretary at the Ministry of Economy and Energy.
Havrilet noted that last year, Romanian gas producer Romgaz expressed interest in expanding its activity in foreign markets, exploring new opportunities and identifying efficient options for expansion through a potential collaboration with SOCAR. On the Azerbaijani side, there was an interest in exploring and exploiting Black Sea offshore gas fields in partnership with Romgaz, should the Romanian company decide to get involved in these offshore projects.
He pointed out that the very good bilateral relationship between Romania and Azerbaijan was an essential factor in the process that led to the entry of SOCAR on the Romanian market. Although SOCAR’s activity focuses mainly on the offshore perimeters of the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea is an important energy bridge between Caspian region and the European market. Romania holds a strategic interconnection position on the Black Sea coast and has the capacity to contribute to the transit of energy from the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea towards Central and Eastern Europe. He added that the Black Sea has significant natural gas reserves and can be an area of interest in the context of Azerbaijan’s substantial and constant efforts to develop new perimeters to feed into the Southern Gas Corridor.
SOCAR is also expanding it retail fuel network in Romania. In the last six months, the Romanian Competition Council has authorized the transaction by which SOCAR Petroleum, a Romanian subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, intends to lease five petrol stations, currently operated by the local company Ipeco, as well as another six petrol stations, currently operated by the local company Aral.
