SOCAR is reviewing any opportunity in the oil and natural gas sectors

• Interview with Hamza Karimov, General Manager of SOCAR Romania

Reporter: SOCAR was interested in the acquisition of "Oltchim", prior to buying "Petchim" of Turkey. Is SOCAR interested now in the privatization of "Oltchim"?

Hamza Karimov: We have been in Romania since 2007, and we are constantly analyzing the Romanian market. We are no longer in the beginning, we already have a concrete project, which was initiated. We are still reviewing any proposal in the oil and gas sectors.

Reporter: And "Oltchim"?

Hamza Karimov: I can not say anything about Oltchim for now, because on the petrochemical side, we have already begun investments in Turkey. Because of this, I can not say whether we are interested or not, because we are now focusing on the Turkish market, on the petrochemical sector.

Reporter: The state has an ongoing privatization program under way to sell stakes in state owned energy companies. Are you interested in participating in these offerings?

Hamza Karimov: Honestly, I do not have much information on this subject, but our operations are in oil and gas, I do not think that electricity interests SOCAR.

Reporter: Coming up next will be "Transgaz, "Romgaz", "Hidroelectrica"...

Hamza Karimov: With "Transgaz and "Romgaz" we have a very good partnership, in the Nabucco and AGRI projects. We are already cooperating with the strong state owned companies.

Reporter: The minister of the Economy, Lucian Bode, said he would accept any form of the Nabucco project. How do you feel about that?

Hamza Karimov: The Nabucco project has been on the table for over 10 years. It is hard to tell whether it will be completed or not because we do not know how things are going to evolve, economically speaking. But we have resources and we will support any project. For us, any project is welcome.

Reporter: Including Nabucco.

Hamza Karimov: Including Nabucco. We are exporters of natural gas. We are interested in the pipeline or route which will allow us to sell gas at the highest price.

Reporter: What are your relationships with Russia?

Hamza Karimov: We have a very good relationship. We export natural gas to Russia, to Europe, to Turkey, we have no problem. The president of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, leads a very balanced domestic and foreign policy, so we have no problems with anybody.

Reporter: Do you feel that at this moment, speaking from an economic point of view, a smaller project, such as AGRI, is more feasible than a bigger one, such as Nabucco, to carry Azeri gas to Europe?

Hamza Karimov: Being a smaller project, AGRI also has fewer risks. AGRI has been on the table for a year or two, but thanks to the good relationship between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Romania, this project was actually successful, it has arrived to the stage of choosing a company that would conduct the feasibility study. In a few months, we will know whether the project is feasible or not. The company which will draw up the feasibility study has already been selected.

Reporter: How many gas stations does SOCAR have in Romania now?

Hamza Karimov: So far, 15 gas stations.

Reporter: Do you intend to buy another chain of gas stations which would be for sale in Romania?

Hamza Karimov: Sure, we are interested. We are analyzing the market.

Reporter: Did you negotiate, for instance, with Petrom for certain gas stations?

Hamza Karimov: We didn't. Because SOCAR is a new brand, we have our standards. I would prefer to build new gas stations, according to our standards.

Reporter: Do you have a target that you want to reach?

Hamza Karimov: Our goal is to cover the market all over the country. I couldn't give you a number. I am interested in the quality of the stations, the number of stations is not that important.

Reporter: So, you prefer greenfield investments, instead of acquiring gas stations.

Hamza Karimov: Yes.

Reporter: And you are not interested in "Oltchim"...

Hamza Karimov: I can't deny, nor confirm.

Reporter: Or Arpechim.

Hamza Karimov: Arpechim, no. Like I've told you, SOCAR is building refineries in Turkey. It would be hard for me to say that I am interested in Arpechim, when we are already building refineries in Turkey.

• SOCAR represents Azerbaijan in the AGRI and Nabucco projects

SOCAR is involved in the AGRI project (Azerbaidjan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector), which is of strategic importance for Romania, which will carry natural gas from the Caspian region to Georgia, where it will be liquefied and transported using special tanks to the port of Constanţa. Once there, the gas will be converted back into gaseous state and later shipped through pipelines to Western Europe.

According to the Ministry of the Economy, AGRI can help reduce the deadlocks caused by the increase in the demand for natural gas, following the decision of some European countries to reduce the weight of nuclear energy. At the same time, the project consolidates Romania's role in the region as a country of transit and connection in the regions of Southern Caucasus, Central Asia (in the event of attracting Turkmenistan as an additional supplier) and Europe.

The strong points of the project are: the existence of an an large chunk of the necessary infrastructure, especially the Romania - Hungary interconnector (Arad-Szeged), the flexibility which is involved by the LNG technology, the direct access of Azeri gas to the European market and last but not least, the political support expressed by all of the four partner countries.

SOCAR also represents Azerbaijan in the Nabucco project. Both AGRI and Nabucco have the objective of reducing Romania's dependency on the import of natural gas in Russia.

Nabucco, a project which has the political support of the EU, is considered the new bridge for natural gas between Asia and Europe. It will directly connect the regions richest in natural gas -the Caspian region and the Middle East, with the consumer markets in Europe. The pipeline will connect the Eastern border of Turkey and Baumgarten in Austria - one of the most important natural gas terminals in Central Europe - going through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.