Azerbaijan Cuts Deal To Supply 4 European Nations With Electricity

Hungary, Romania, Georgia, and Azerbaijan have sealed a deal for an undersea electricity connector that could become a new power source for the European Union (EU), Justine Spike, Vadim Ghirda and Stephen McGrath reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The agreement between the four nations will provide the “financial and technical framework” for the undersea electricity cable project.

The agreement involves a cable running beneath the Black Sea that would link Azerbaijan to Hungary via Georgia and Romania.

The deal comes as Hungary, which has lobbied heavily against EU sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine, is seeking additional sources for fossil fuels to reduce its heavy dependence on Russian oil and gas.

Azerbaijan plans to export electricity from offshore wind farms to Europe via Georgia, a cable beneath the Black Sea, and then to Romania and Hungary.

The office of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in a statement Friday that the agreement between the four nations will provide the “financial and technical framework” for the undersea electricity cable project.

The project will aim to diversify energy supplies and increase regional energy security, the statement said. On Friday, Romanian natural gas producer Romgaz also said it signed a contract with Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR to receive natural gas through the so-called southern gas corridor, with deliveries set to start on Jan. 1.

Romgaz said it will serve its “strategic objectives” of diversifying natural gas sources.

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