ArmInfo. Since the beginning of this year, Iran has exported 250 million cubic meters of natural gas to Armenia. Tasnim News reports with reference to the managing director of the Iranian gas transportation company Said Tavakoli.
According to him, in 2004 Tehran signed a gas deal with Yerevan, according to which the Islamic Republic agreed to supply gas to Armenia and import electricity in return.
The 20-year contract came into force in mid-2009. He added, that gas is exported to Armenia through a 30-inch pipeline, capable of displacing 2.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The official noted that the volume of gas exports in the previous fiscal year amounted to 365 million cubic meters.
According to the agreement, Iran's natural gas is used by Armenian power plants to produce electricity, which, in turn, is exported to Iran. Tehran receives 3.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity from Yerevan in exchange for 1 cubic meter of natural gas. The energy networks of Iran and Armenia are connected by two electric lines, and the third is being built. It is planned that after the completion of the construction of the third Iran-Armenia power line in 2019, the volume of the barter transaction will increase significantly.
It should be noted that the construction of the Iran-Armenia power line is carried out by the Iranian company Sanir. The total cost of this program is $ 107.9 million. The construction was started in 2012, but due to the sanctions against Iran and the lack of necessary financial resources, the construction of this energy facility was delayed. The route for laying power transmission lines has been determined, work has been carried out on pairing the lines, and the location of the construction of the electric substation has been determined.
Imported equipment worth $ 1.337 million, including voltage transformers. Work was carried out on the construction of an open warehouse in the amount of 250 thousand euros. The project is funded by the Iranian Development Bank, which provided 77% of all necessary funds, and 23% - Sanir. In total, 722 poles from the village of Ddmashen to Agarak should be installed for power lines. In order to implement the project, 743 land plots will be alienated in favor of the state.
The Armenian government at the meeting on April 28, 2016 granted the Iranian company Sanir permission to implement licensing activities. With the help of this power line, Iran expects to enter the electricity market of Georgia and Russia via the Armenian-Georgian electricity transmission line under construction with a total cost of 303 million euros. The voltage of the transmission line will be 400kV, the construction will make it possible to increase the transmission capacity to 1000mW from the current 350mW. The length of the power line will be 279 km.