Romanian, Azeri Presidents Discussed SOCAR'S Participation In Romanian Privatizations

04.18.2011 By Bostan Radu

Romanian President Traian Basescu said Monday that he has talked with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, about state-owned oil company SOCAR taking part in the privatization of Romanian companies.

Romanian President Traian Basescu said Monday that he has talked with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, about state-owned oil company SOCAR taking part in the privatization of Romanian companies.

Basescu said SOCAR's involvement in fuel distribution on the Romanian market and the potential for its distribution network to eventually include the population is extremely important to Romania, as it will foster strong competition, keeping prices down for both people and the industry.

Aliyev said SOCAR's activity in Romania is developing and the context is right for further cooperation between the two states, since Romania is also part of the Nabucco project and the AGRI project.

SOCAR (the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic) is one of the parties involved in the AGRI (Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector) project, whose goal is to transport natural gas from the Caspian Sea region to Romania. Last year, SOCAR has also announced it would supply 12 billion cubic meters of gas through the Nabucco pipeline, a project in which Romania is party through Transgaz Medias.

Recently, the Azeri state-owned oil company has announced it is interested in opening around 300 gas stations in Romania, over the next three years.