ARMENIA NEGOTIATING IRANIAN GAS SUPPLIES

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
October 7, 2008 Tuesday 2:14 PM MSK
Russia

Armenia and Iran are negotiating the schedule for Iranian gas exports
to Armenia.

An Armenian delegation is currently in Iran to reach an agreement on
the issue, Armenian Energy Ministry spokeswoman Lyusine Arutyunyan said

Iran has proposed beginning deliveries on October 13. Armenia will
officially respond to the proposal this week, Arutyunyan said.

It was reported earlier that Iran and Armenia began operating a gas
pipeline linking the two countries last year. Initial capacity on the
pipeline is 450 million cubic meters a year, subsequently increasing to
2.3 billion cubic meters a year. Gas is not currently being delivered
on the pipeline. Most of the gas from the pipeline will be supplied
to Armenian power plants, with electricity being exported to Iran
along two high-voltage transmission lines (construction of a third
line is scheduled to begin later in 2008). Armenia can use any excess
gas for internal needs.

The arrangement provides some diversification of gas supplies for
Armenia, which has relied exclusively on Russia gas shipped through
Georgia.

Armenia and Iran have stepped up cooperation in the fuel and energy
and infrastructure in recent years.