In a panel discussion with his counterparts from eight other nations in the region - Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova - at the Romanian International Gas Conference in Bucharest, Parviz Shahbazov, the Energy Minister of Azerbaijan, said: "We are in contact with officials from Romania. While we are making every effort, it will take time. Regarding gas transit and transportation, there are several organizational requirements. We are trying our best, are engaged in negotiations, and have a strategic alliance with Romania. However, at least ten European countries have requested gas from us, and we are doing everything possible to accommodate them."
He claimed that his country is getting ready to enhance gas shipments to the EU: "We provided 8.2 billion cubic meters to the EU last year, and this year we boosted that quantity by 40%. In the next five years, we plan to supply the European Union with twice as much natural gas from Azerbaijan." The Azerbaijani Minister stated, "We aim to increase our deliveries to new regions, from the south of Europe to the west of the Balkans, and to offer much more gas to our partners who are currently receiving it." Shahbazov stressed that while hasty judgments are necessary, things do not happen overnight.
"Things like this do not just happen overnight; we still need to make the right investment choices and engage in intergovernmental dialogues. Contracts and commitments are necessary for both the consumer and production sides. We do not have much time, so this entire package needs to be deployed as quickly as feasible," he continued. "For us, Romania is a crucial ally in the oil and petroleum products sector. In 24 districts of Romania, we have a network of 68 gas stations that are owned by the state-owned enterprise [SOCAR]. As a prospective transit route and a participant in the new initiative to expand the southern gas corridor, Romania will now be included," he added. The Azerbaijani official said Romania could play a significant role in the area with the aid of BRUA [the BRUA pipeline is a natural gas pipeline from Podișor, Giurgiu County to Recaș, Timiș County part of future Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Austria gas interconnector].
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