RIA Novosti, Russia
Dec 11 2004
RUSSIAN GAS SUPPLIES TO ARMENIA TO BE INCREASED TO 1.350 BILLION
CUBIC METERS BY END OF 2004
YEREVAN, December 11 (RIA Novosti’s Gamlet Matevosyan) – By the end
of 2004 the Armenian-Russian company ArmRosgazprom is to increase gas
supplies to Armenia from 1.300 to 1.350 billion cubic meters,
ArmRogazprom CEO and director general Karen Karapetyan told
journalists.
According to him, next year the company is to increase gas supplies
to Armenia to 1.6-1.7 billion cubic meters taking into account the
rates of gasification and consumption volumes in the country.
The capacity of the Abovyan gasholder will be expanded from current
85 million cubic meters to 220-250 million cubic meters, said Mr.
Karapetyan. This will cost $27 million, he added. To finance the
program the company is negotiating with several banks, including
foreign ones, on granting credit.
“The implementation of this program will guarantee our security in an
emergency. I am convinced that the problem of Armenia’s energy
security will be solved soon, given the forthcoming opening of the
alternative Iran-Armenia gas pipeline,” Karen Karapetyan noted.
The Armenian-Russian company ArmRosgazprom is the single supplier of
natural gas to Armenia.