Interstate Oil and Gas Transportation to Europe (INOGATE) was an international energy co-operation programme between the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU), the

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

states of the

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

and Caspian seas and their neighbouring countries. The programme was operational from 1996 to 2016. INOGATE was one of the longest running energy technical assistance programmes funded by the EU. Up to 2006, it was funded by the Tacis Regional Cooperation Programme, and as of 2007, it was funded by the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) under the ENPI-East Regional Indicative Programme 2007–2010 and 2010–2013. EuropeAid supported the programme through the ENPI and the Development Cooperation Instrument. The coordinating INOGATE Technical Secretariat was discontinued in April 2016.

Origins

INOGATE originated in 1995 as an EU support mechanism dealing with INterstate Oil and GAs Transportation to Europe (whence it derived its name as an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

). It was particularly concerned initially with oil and gas pipelines running from and through Eastern Europe and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

to the EU. In 2001, a formal 'Umbrella Agreement' was signed by twenty one countries in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, to cooperate on pipeline development and enhancement. Following conferences in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan in 2004 and in

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, INOGATE evolved into a broader energy partnership between the EU and countries of the former Soviet Union, (excluding the Russian Federation and the Baltic States, but including Turkey), and concentrating on four key topics: * enhancing

energy security Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption (as opposed to household energy insecurity). Access to cheaper energy has become essential to the functioning of modern ...

convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen *Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that ...

of member state

energy market An energy market is a type of commodity market on which electricity, heat, and fuel products are traded. Natural gas and electricity are examples of products traded on an energy market. Other energy commodities include: oil, coal, carbon emission ...

s on the basis of EU internal energy market principles * supporting

sustainable energy Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the e ...

development * attracting investment for energy projects of common and regional interest.

Partner countries

The INOGATE partner countries are: Turkey is an INOGATE partner country and was, therefore, regularly invited to attend INOGATE meetings but it is not a beneficiary country.

The Baku Initiative and the Astana Declaration

The Baku Initiative resulted from a policy dialogue on energy cooperation between the

and the INOGATE partner countries. The initiative was announced on 13 November 2004 at the Energy Ministerial Conference in

. A second Ministerial Conference was held in

on 30 November 2006 which confirmed the broader remit of the INOGATE programme to cover a range of energy issues in the Partner Countries and their cooperation in these issues with the EU. One objective of the Baku Initiative is to enhance integration of the energy markets of participating countries with the EU

, so as to create transparent energy markets, capable of attracting investment and enhancing security of energy supply. The partner countries agreed objectives to harmonise legal and technical standards so as to create a functioning integrated energy market in accordance with EU and international legal and regulatory frameworks; to increase the safety and security of energy supplies by extending and modernising existing infrastructure, substituting outdated power generation infrastructures with

environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...

systems; the development of new infrastructures and implementation of modern monitoring systems; improvement of energy supply and demand management through the integration of efficient and sustainable energy systems; and promotion of the financing of commercially and environmentally viable energy projects of common interest. A 'road-map' towards achievement of these and allied objectives was adopted at the Astana Ministerial Conference.

Structure and activities

The coordinating body of INOGATE was the Technical Secretariat based in Kyiv, Ukraine, with regional offices in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, Georgia, and in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, Uzbekistan. The INOGATE Secretariat had an important role in ensuring the visibility, the coordination, coherence and sustainability of the programme as a whole as well as the individual projects. The Baku Initiative is implemented through the four working groups, each of which contains members from all partner countries: * Harmonisation of Legal, Regulatory and Institutional framework for market liberalisation * Enhancing Safety and Security of Energy Transportation Networks * Sustainable development * Investment Attraction and Project Facilitation A number of specific projects, financed by the ENPI, were associated with the INOGATE programme, and ar
listed at the INOGATE webportal
These projects included initiatives to improve safety and security of oil and gas transit structures, to develop coordinated national energy policies in Central Asia, and to support market integration and sustainable energy initiatives in partner countries. INOGATE was closely involved with the development of the Eastern European Regional Centre for Hydrocarbon Metrology in Boyarka, Ukraine, which 'provides state-of-the-art calibration services for gas transfer within the region and to other countries'. This should form an important element in the development of a regional energy market operating to Western European standards.se
Boyarka
informative brochure The INOGATE programme had an ongoing schedule of conferences and publications. It
webportal
contained regularly updated information and news on energy developments in partner countries and relevant EU initiatives and policies. The programme supported reduction in Partner Countries, their dependency on fossil fuels and imports, improvement of the security of their energy supply, and climate change mitigation.

Projects

An 'INOGATE Project' was any EU-funded regional energy project supporting energy policy cooperation in the INOGATE Partner countries in the topics of the four INOGATE areas of cooperation. Since the inception of the Programme in 1996, approximately 61 INOGATE projects have been implemented. In the period 2010-2015 there were three active INOGATE projects: * INOGATE Technical Secretariat (ITS) and integrated programme in support of the Baku Initiative and the Eastern Partnership energy objectives; Duration: 02/2012-01/2015, Total value: €16.6 million * Energy Saving Initiative in the Building Sector in the Eastern European and Central Asian Countries; Duration: 01/2010 - 12/2013, Total value: €4.5 million * Sustainable energy programme for Central Asia: renewable energy sources and energy efficiency; Duration: 01/2013-12/2015, Total value: €4 million. In addition to the INOGATE projects, there was also the following INOGATE-related project (not directly promoted as an INOGATE project but using INOGATE funding and encouraging the same objectives): * Supporting Participation of Eastern European and Central Asian Cities in the 'Covenant of Mayors' (INOGATE-related project); Duration: 09/2011 - 09/2013, Total value: €2.15 million Each of the individual projects was responsible for ensuring visibility of their actions. However the ITS project promoted their results in the wider framework of the INOGATE Programme.

References

Notes

Sources

ENPI-Info
Web site of the EU Neighbourhood Partnership Initiative
Democratic Belarus
website

website, Azerbaijan * ADE, ''Evaluation of the European Commission’s Cooperation with Ukraine'', 2010. Downloadable from

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

br>website
in PDF format. Consulted 4.8.2011. * Baghat, Gadat G., 'EU seeks energy security in stronger supplier ties', in ''Oil and Gas Journal'', vol. 103, issue 38, 10 October 2005, pp. 22–26 * Berenyi, Ivan, 'The Battle for market share', in ''Petroleum Economist'', September 2003, p. 1 * Boyarka Metrology Centre Brochure
downloadable
as PDF (consulted 4.11.2011). * *

External links

INOGATE web site

European Commission DG Transport and Energy
Ministerial Declaration on Enhanced energy co-operation between the EU, the Littoral States of the Black and Caspian Seas and their neighbouring countries
30 November 2006, Astana {{European Union topics International energy organizations Energy in Azerbaijan Energy in Armenia Energy in Belarus Energy in Georgia (country) Energy in Kazakhstan Energy in Kyrgyzstan Energy in Moldova Energy in Tajikistan Energy in Turkey Energy in Turkmenistan Energy in Ukraine Energy in Uzbekistan European Union and third organisations