Mehr News Agency, Iran
Dec 16 2006
Iran to start exporting gas to Armenia in Jan.
TEHRAN, Dec. 16 (MNA) – Iran will start piping gas to Armenia
starting January 2007 according to a contract previously signed
between the two states, the project commissioner of Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline said here on Saturday.
Based on the contract signed, Iran-Armenia gas pipeline project
should have been finished by September 2007, however, based on a
later protocol inked by Iranian and Armenian high-ranking officials,
the time was reduced to 650 days from 930 days, Mohammad-Reza
Lorzadeh elaborated.
Under the protocol, Iran will start transferring gas to Armenia in
January, he added.
He noted that the pipeline passes both through land and river (Aras
River). In land part, pipe-laying has been implemented at 113 km from
Tabriz, northwestern Iran, to Nurduz region just before Iran-Armenia
border line. Some part of the pipeline passes through mountainous
areas.
Furthermore, preliminary work for pipe-laying under the river has
been carried out, he stated, putting total progress at 96 percent.
`The pilot transfer is underway and any probable fault will be
reformed,’ he noted, adding, Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is to be fed
by gas fields in Assaluyeh, Bidboland, and Kangan.
Also, Mohammad-Reza Akbari, the managing director of Payandan Company
said that the contract on Iranian gas export to Armenia is on the
EPCM (engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance) basis.
For the first time, Iran has installed gas pipe at 2800 meters height
in the hard-to-pass areas, he explained.
He added that nearly 26,500 tons of pipes have been used for the
pipeline, which have been purchased from Turkey and conveyed to
operation site.
Based on the agreement, Iran will transfer one million cubic meters
of natural gas per day to Armenia at the beginning. This will
increase to 3 million cu. m per day later on, he added.
Payandan is the contractor assigned for Iran-Armenia gas pipeline
project.