Iran, Armenia seal Georgia gas transit deal

Armenia says it has moved one step closer to an ambitious plan to buy natural gas from Iran and sell it to Georgia.   

According to a statement by Armenia’s Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure, and Natural Resources as reported by the domestic media, the country recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to increase gas imports from Iran.

The statement said that the MoU had been signed between Armenia’s Energaimpex company and the National Iranian Gas Export Company. This took place when a delegation had visited Tehran from 31 October to 1 November, reported Asbarez.com news service.  

It added that Yerevan is looking to increase imports of natural gas from Iran in the near future without specifying how much more gas will be imported based on the MoU.

Armenia currently imports up to 500 million cubic meters of Iranian gas annually through a pipeline built in 2008.   

Armenia currently receives about 1 million cubic meters of gas a day (mcm/d) from Iran, which is converted into electricity and is shipped back to Iran.

Iran had already announced that it plans to triple gas exports to Armenia by 2019 and will also sell gas to Georgia through Armenia, Asbarez.com added.

Earlier in July, Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh told reporters in Tehran that Georgia has also sealed a basic agreement with Iran to import gas from Iran through Armenia.

He said Iran plans to conduct a trial export of gas to Georgia through Armenia within the next few months.  If the trial proves successful, Iran will finalize the agreement to export gas to Georgia, he added.

The transit of gas to Georgia through Armenia will be carried out through a new organization that will be established by Iran and Armenia, Zanganeh said. The same organization will be responsible for issues relating to Iran’s exports of gas to Armenia as well as the transit of gas to other regional markets through Armenia, he added.