RIA Novosti, Russia
Jan 29 2007

Gazprom considers oil refinery project in Armenia near Iran
15:50 | 29/ 01/ 2007

YEREVAN, January 29 (RIA Novosti) – A spokesman for the Armenian
president confirmed that Russian energy giant Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] was
considering a project to build an oil refinery in southern Armenia
near the Iranian border.

"I can confirm that Russia’s Gazprom is considering the possibility
of building an oil refinery in Armenia," Viktor Sogomonyan said,
adding that negotiations were in the initial stage.

He said Armenian President Robert Kocharyan had discussed the project
during his visit to Russia last week. Russian President Vladimir
Putin said after the talks that Russian mobile operator VimpelCom
[RTS: VIMP], aluminum company RusAl and Gazprom would double their
investment in the Armenian economy to $1.5 billion.