ArmInfo. At the moment, there is no agreement on the gas export from Iran to Georgia, Iran's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen told Trend August 25.
He was commenting on the information which appeared in the Iranian media outlets regarding signing of a contract for the supply of Iranian gas to Georgia via Armenia. The diplomat said any news in media concerning this issue are just personal ideas of their authorities not based on official statements.
Earlier Georgia's deputy energy minister Mariam Valishvili told Trend that Georgian Ministry has no information on the conclusion of contracts for the import of Iranian gas to the country.
Prior to it, some Iranian media outlets reported with reference to the country's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh that the test agreement on the export of Iranian gas to Georgia via Armenia has been concluded.
"Iran has signed up a miniature tentative deal with a Georgian purchaser for gas sale, which is hoped to be in effect this year with the passage of Iranian gas through Armenian soil," Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said after the meeting with Armenia's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Levon Yolyan, IRNA news agency said.
"Of course, Armenia is not a major consumer but can open an important way for Iranian gas exports and in this field there has been agreement between the two sides", the IRNA quotes Iranian Minister as saying. According to him, Iran seeks to increase export of natural gas to Armenia from, current mln cubic meters to 3mln cubic meters by 2019.
It was reported earlier that the Government decided to set up the EnergaImpEx CJSC, which will increase natural gas imports from the Islamic Republic of Iran, making more efficient the use of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. The decision provides that the Government of the Republic of Armenia shall allocate money from its reserve fund to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Ministry with a view to investing in the equity capital of the company.
To recall, Armenian-Iranian gas pipeline was opened in 2007. The two countries signed a gas and power barter deal in 2004 for a period of 20 years. The capacity of the gas export pipeline is about 2.3 billion cubic meters annually and based on a deal between the two sides, Iranian exported gas will be consumed by electricity generation power plants and instead Iran will import electricity from Armenia. Currently Iran supplies 370 mln cubic meters of gas to Armenia annually. In the future when two new units of thermal plants in Yerevan and Vanadzor are put into operation the supplies may reach 1.2 bln cubic meters. Earlier in January, Head of the National Iranian Gas Exports Co Ali-Reza Kameli said that Iran is negotiating on gas supply to Georgia via Armenia. The supply may total 300-500 mln cubic feet daily. The main consumers will be the electric power plants in Georgia.