Energocom, SOCAR discuss gas supplies to Moldova via Southern Gas Corridor
BAKU. March 4 (Interfax) - Moldova's Energocom and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) have discussed possibilities for expanding cooperation, Energocom said.
The discussions took place during a meeting between SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf and Moldovan Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu.
"Energocom's acting general director, Eugeniu Buzatu, also participated in the meeting with SOCAR's management. The parties analyzed the possibilities for expanding cooperation between the companies, and also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest," Energocom said.
Buzatu, who participated in the 12th meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council in Baku, raised issues of diversifying procurement sources and consolidating natural gas transmission routes.
"Diversification of supplies and optimization of supply routes are necessary from both a strategic and commercial point of view. In this way, Moldova is interested in receiving natural gas from Azerbaijan, which could be transported via this route and the Vertical Corridor, including storage in Romania and Ukraine," Energocom said.
It also noted that Energocom was the first company to commercially test this route, importing natural gas from the United States via the LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis (Greece) in 2024.
Junghietu said on social media that natural gas remains an important component of Moldova's energy system, accounting for around 16% of final consumption. At the same time, diversifying supplies and optimizing transport routes remain crucial strategic tasks.
"Moldova has demonstrated that the Southern Gas Corridor is not just a strategic goal, but a commercially viable project. We have strengthened energy security, diversified supply sources, and accelerated integration into the European energy market. The results are concrete: for the first time in history, record capacity for natural gas supplies has been reserved for March within the Vertical Corridor - 2.4 million cubic meters per day," he said.
He again emphasized the importance of adopting a single tariff for the entire corridor, which would strengthen its commercial viability and facilitate cross-border trade.
Junghietu said that during a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Parviz Shahbazov, he discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in the gas sector and developing regional demand.
He also invited Azerbaijani companies to participate in a new tender for the construction of large wind power plants totaling 170 MW in Moldova.
