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IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE HOLDS NEW TRANSIT POSSIBILITIES
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
The Messenger, Georgia
June 28 2007
Armenian Prime Minister Serj Sarkisian says the key aim in building a
second section of the Iran-Armenia natural gas pipeline is to increase
capacity, although it will also open up possibilities for new transit
routes. If transit proposals come, his government will be ready to
implement them, the news agency Regnum reports Sarkisian as saying.
The prime minister's statement reads as an offer to the Georgian
government, which has long searched for an alternative to Russian
gas supplies.
The official opening ceremony, attended by the Armenian and Iranian
presidents, of the 140 km Iran-Armenia gas pipeline was on March 19
this year. The pipeline's capacity is 1.1 billion cubic meters a year.
The pipeline, in a political concession to Moscow, is controlled by
ArmRosGazprom, a joint Russian-Armenian energy company.
The company plans to increase capacity by building another 197.4 km
section in Armenia, running from Kajaran to Ararat. USD 149 million
is to be invested in the project.
The completed pipeline, under a 20-year contract, would provide
Armenia with 2.3 billion cubic meters a year of Iranian gas starting
in 2009. In partial compensation for Iran's building costs, Armenia
will send 3 kilowatts of electricity from its nuclear power plant
for every cubic meter of Iranian gas, writes Regnum.
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
The Messenger, Georgia
June 28 2007
Armenian Prime Minister Serj Sarkisian says the key aim in building a
second section of the Iran-Armenia natural gas pipeline is to increase
capacity, although it will also open up possibilities for new transit
routes. If transit proposals come, his government will be ready to
implement them, the news agency Regnum reports Sarkisian as saying.
The prime minister's statement reads as an offer to the Georgian
government, which has long searched for an alternative to Russian
gas supplies.
The official opening ceremony, attended by the Armenian and Iranian
presidents, of the 140 km Iran-Armenia gas pipeline was on March 19
this year. The pipeline's capacity is 1.1 billion cubic meters a year.
The pipeline, in a political concession to Moscow, is controlled by
ArmRosGazprom, a joint Russian-Armenian energy company.
The company plans to increase capacity by building another 197.4 km
section in Armenia, running from Kajaran to Ararat. USD 149 million
is to be invested in the project.
The completed pipeline, under a 20-year contract, would provide
Armenia with 2.3 billion cubic meters a year of Iranian gas starting
in 2009. In partial compensation for Iran's building costs, Armenia
will send 3 kilowatts of electricity from its nuclear power plant
for every cubic meter of Iranian gas, writes Regnum.