RA MFA: Armenia actively cooperates with Iran in energy sphere, both in bilateral and multilateral formats

ArmInfo. Armenia actively cooperates with Iran in the energy sector, both in bilateral and multilateral formats. Armenian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Shavarsh Kocharyan stated this in the Armenian parliament.

As an example, he cited bilateral Armenian-Iranian energy projects, as well as the project of creating an electric energy corridor Iran-Armenia-Georgia-Russia by the end of 2019 will lead to an increase in the volume of the barter transaction of electricity in exchange for gas.  According to him, if the current Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is used by 25%, then after completing the construction and operation of a high-voltage transmission line with a capacity of 400 kilovolts, the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline will be fully filled. "After the completion of the construction of the third Iran-Armenia power transmission line, we will export more electricity to Iran, and Iran to Armenia will have more gas," Kocharyan explained.

The four-sided memorandum between Armenia, Georgia, Iran and Russia providing for increasing the level of management of electricity flows, security and reliability of power systems was signed on December 23, 2015 in Yerevan. According to the RA Ministry of Energy, the fact that the energy systems of the four countries operate in parallel synchronous mode contributes to the creation of an enabling environment for cooperation. In particular, it is envisaged to commission the fourth power transmission line Armenia-Georgia with the capacity of 400-500 kW by the end of 2019. As a result, it will be possible to work in parallel with the Georgian energy system, and the capacity of electricity flows at the first stage will be 350 MW, and by 2021 it will be brought up to 700 MW. In addition, until the end of 2019, the third high-voltage power line Iran-Armenia will be put into operation, which will make it possible to increase the capacity of the overflows to 1050 MW. The purpose of these events is the implementation of the initiative to create an electricity corridor North-South, which will provide an opportunity to work with the energy systems of the EAEC and the EU. The total cost of the Iran-Armenia power transmission line construction project is $ 107 million. The Iranian side provides the funds, the project is being implemented by the Iranian company Sanir.