ArmInfo. Armenia continues to discuss the possibility of supplying Iranian gas. This was announced on Monday during the conversation with journalists by the Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan after the meeting of My Step faction.
"The issue of supplying Iranian gas has been discussed before, it is being discussed now, and it will be discussed until a concrete and profitable solution is found," the acting head of the Armenian government said. Meanwhile, back in June 2018, former Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia Artur Grigoryan said that in case of an increase in the price of Russian natural gas, Armenia may begin negotiations on fuel supplies from Iran. "Armenia is interested in the supply of cheap natural gas," the minister said. Earlier, the former minister for the first time called the price of gas offered by Iran - $ 160 per 1 thousand cubic meters, while Russia sells its product to Armenia for $ 150. Since 2008, Armenia has been receiving Iranian gas within the framework of the program "Gas for exchange for electricity" at the rate of 1 cubic meter of gas in exchange for 3 kW / h of electricity. Meanwhile, on November 8, 2018, during the meeting of the commission to investigate the validity of gas and electricity tariffs, the chairman of the board, director general of Gazprom-Armenia CJSC, Hrant Tadevosyan said that if Iranian gas is at least 10% cheaper than Russian gas, then it will be beneficial for the Armenian side to acquire it. He stressed that the calorific value of Iranian gas per 1 thousand cubic meters is 7900 kilocalories, while Russian gas is not less than 8200. "This means that when burning Russian gas significantly more heat is produced, therefore, once the cost of Russian gas per 1 thousand cubic meters is $ 150, Iranian gas, under equal conditions, should not cost more than $ 135 per 1 thousand cubic meters, "said Tadevosyan, adding that this issue is subject to negotiation at the government level. To recall, according to the Armenian-Russian agreement, the base caloric value for gas should be 7,900 kilocalories per thousand cubic meters. If the calorie content is higher, an additional factor should be added to the tariff. For Armenia, this rule did not work until the end of 2018.