SOCAR, Bulgaria's M-Gaz start supplying CNG to North Macedonia
BAKU. Dec 9 (Interfax) - State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) has started to supply compressed natural gas to Strumica in North Macedonia in conjunction with Bulgaria's M-Gaz and North Macedonia's CNG Systems, the Bulgarian company said in a statement.
"SOCAR, through its efficient collaboration with M-Gaz and CNG Systems, promotes and supports hybrid gasification project not only in Bulgaria, but now also in Republic North Macedonia. Starting from December 1, 2025, thanks to productive collaboration between SOCAR, M-Gaz and CNG Systems, natural gas from Azerbaijan has been supplied to households, social and industrial customers in Strumica, Republic North Macedonia," it said.
A gas distribution network of 50 km has been built in the city, which is supplied with compressed natural gas. "With the expansion of hybrid gasification in the Republic of North Macedonia, Azerbaijani natural gas provides heating and hot water to six kindergartens and eight schools. The project also includes a hospital, several buildings and offices in the municipality of Strumica, as well as two industrial customers," the company said.
The companies are now thinking of suppling CNG to Albania under the hybrid gasification concept, it has been reported.
M-Gaz and SOCAR Balkany came up with the hybrid gasification concept. The project started on June 18, 2024 with the supply of Azerbaijani gas to five of Bulgaria's largest industrial consumers selected by SOCAR. Its purpose is to supply CNG to industrial and social customers who are not connected to the gas transmission or distribution network.
Strumica is the cultural, commercial, and political center of the southeastern region of Republic North Macedonia. The tenth largest city in the country, with a population of nearly 40,000, Strumica is located in the Strumica Valley, near the border with Greece and Bulgaria.
SOCAR and Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM), the state-owned electricity company of North Macedonia, signed a memorandum of understanding on gas supplies during the COP29 conference in November 2024. Cooperation with SOCAR is aimed at supporting the North Macedonian government's efforts to provide the country with natural gas while SOCAR seeks to increase its presence in the regional market.
Azerbaijan has contracts to supply gas to 11 countries in Europe, namely Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, North Macedonia and Germany. The annual volume should gradually increase to 15 terawatt-hours (TWh), which is around 1.5 billion cubic meters, including long-term contracts with a fixed supply volume to Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria, and with Germany's Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (SEFE) for 10 years. Contracts without exact purchase volumes have been signed with the remaining countries.
Azerbaijan exported 25.2 bcm of gas in 2024, up 5.8% compared to 2023. It supplied 12.9 bcm or 51% of the total to Europe.
