Pipeliners

10–26–2006 Regnum News – Iranian gas will be supplied to Armenia via Iran-Armenia gas pipeline ahead of schedule, the High-voltage Electric Lines Company director Saak Abramyan, whose company ordered construction of the pipeline’s Armenian section, stated to a REGNUM correspondent. According to him, it is supposed that the pipeline’s operation will start on December 20, 2006 instead of January 1, 2007. Also, Saak Abramyan informed that construction works at 38-km section of 40-km Megri-Kajaran section had already been finished. Construction of the 40-km section is assessed to cost $35mln; 80% of the sum will be loaned to Armenian side by Iranian development bank; the rest will be grated from own resources. It is worth reminding; according to Armenian-Iranian agreement, the section’s construction, which will guarantee penetration of Iranian gas deep into the Armenian territory, should be finished till 1 January 2007. It will enable connection of Armenian and Iranian gas distributing systems and to arrange coordinated functioning. The system’s preliminary carrying capacity will slightly be inferior to amounts, recorded in main Armenian-Iranian agreement. According to the latter (signed in May 2004), amount of Iranian gas, supplied into Armenia will total 1.1bln of cubic meters at initial stage; since 2019 it will total 2.3bln of cubic meters. The agreement was concluded for 20 years. In order to reach the planned figures, the Armenian side will additionally lay 197 km of pipe, which will pass through Kajaran, Sisian, Jermuk, and Ararat settlements. Also, it is worth stressing; later in June, the Gazprom Company Deputy CEO Alexander Ryazanov stated that the company was going to purchase the Iran-Armenian gas pipeline. According to him, the gas pipeline’s putting into operation will enable guaranteeing Armenian gas supply’s reliability. “There are problems concerning gas transit into Armenia via Georgia because Georgia permits itself unsanctioned gas extraction,” Ryazanov said.  

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