The minister said that the energy sector is the economic foundation of relations between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria and it is important for the further development of cooperation between the two countries.

“We hope that the IGB will be implemented soon, and thus, from 2020, it will be possible to transport Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria. This will create new and additional opportunities for cooperation in both energy and other fields,” Mammadyarov noted.

He added that one billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani natural gas to be transported via the IGB, which is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), is one fifth of Bulgaria’s current demand for natural gas.

“Participation of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR in the supply of gas to Bulgaria is on the agenda,” the minister said.

He said that on Nov. 6-8, Sofia will host the fifth meeting of the Azerbaijan-Bulgaria joint commission for trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, as well as an export mission and a business forum are planned to be held as part of the meeting with participation of about 30 food companies and wine producers.

The minister added that Azerbaijan intends to deepen and expand cooperation with Bulgaria in many areas, and expressed satisfaction that this desire is mutual.

IGB is a gas pipeline which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.

The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas.

The Southern Gas Corridor provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

On May 29, Baku hosted the launch ceremony of the first phase of the Southern Gas Corridor, and on June 12, the opening ceremony of TANAP was held in the Turkish province of Eskisehir.

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