ARMENIA AND IRAN SEAL GAS-FOR-POWER DEAL

Upstream Online
ece
May 14 2009

Iran has begun exporting gas to Armenia in exchange for electricity,
a senior Iranian oil official has said.

"Ceremonies marking the start of Iran’s gas exports to Armenia were
held on Wednesday… at Nordouz border point," Reuters quoted Reza
Kasaizadeh, head of the National Iranian Gas Export Company, as saying
in the daily newspaper Iran.

"Consequently, the contract of the gas-for-electricity swap between
Iran and Armenia went officially into effect," Kasaizadeh said.

He said Iran will export a total of 1.3 billion cubic metres of gas
by the end of 2010 in a 20-year contract signed in 2004.

A 113 kilometre pipeline is being used for the exports.

The volume of gas exports will increase by 2011 to 1.5 Bcm per year,
he said, adding that Iran hopes to gradually raise this to 2.3 Bcm
per year.

Armenia will use the gas imported from Iran to generate electricity,
part of which will be exported to the Islamic state to cover the cost
of imports.