ARMENIA TO GIVE GAZPROM PIPELINE CONTROL
San Francisco Chronicle
AP
April 6 2006
Armenia has agreed to give Russia’s Gazprom control of part of an
Armenian-Iranian pipeline and a power generating unit at an electric
plant, the natural gas company said Thursday.
The 25-year agreement also obliges Yerevan to give Gazprom’s Armenian
joint venture ownership rights to the yet-to-be-constructed, 122-mile
stretch of the pipeline to Iran, as well as the right to export
electricity produced at the Razdan-5 power plant.
The agreement sets a price for Armenia of $110 per thousand cubic
meters of gas up to Jan. 1, 2009, according to a Gazprom statement.
Armenia’s opposition has expressed concern over Russia’s already
heavy control over the small country’s energy infrastructure.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian, asked whether Armenia had
essentially swapped more control of energy infrastructure in exchange
for Russia easing its increase of gas prices, said: “The goal is to
soften the impact of the price increases on the population, to make
it happen gradually.”
On a visit to Moscow, he also told The Associated Press that the
Russian-Armenian joint venture involved in the project was 40 percent
controlled by Armenia. He said that would allow Yerevan to keep some
influence over its energy sector.
Gazprom has sharply raised prices recently for Ukraine, Georgia and
Moldova, arguing that it is merely ending subsidies to ex-Soviet
republics and bringing the rates closer to market prices but drawing
fire from critics who say the Kremlin is using Russia’s energy wealth
as a political weapon.
Armenia is Russia’s chief ally in the strategic Caucasus Mountain
region, partly thanks to its acceptance of a Russian military base on
its territory. Russia already largely controls the Razdan-5 plant, the
country’s main electricity producer, and Armenia is wholly dependent
on Moscow for gas supplies.