GEORGIA ACCUSED OF OVERCHARGING ARMENIA FOR NATURAL GAS
By M. Alkhazashvili
Translated by Diana Dundua
The Messenger, Georgia
Nov 3 2006
There is an additional reason to make Georgian-Russian relations
tenser. Russian giant Gazprom accuses Georgia of using the natural
gas considered for Armenia. Though Georgia categorically denies this
fact and states that recently Armenia has not expressed any problems
with Georgian side in transporting the natural gas. (The newspaper
Rezonansi.)
According to the General Director of Armrosgazprom Karen Karapetyan,
Armenia paid for Russian natural gas based on the metre on the
Georgian-Armenian border and not based on the metre in Armenia. "The
counter on the Georgian-Armenian border registered a higher amount of
gas use compared to the amount on the metre in Armenian territory,"
Karapetyan stated at a news conference on October 31.
According to her, in order to investigate the difference on the two
meters they suspended gas delivery for two days into Armenia. "The
counter on Georgian territory registered more gas than was sent to
Armenia but in order to avoid a cut-off we paid the whole amount,"
Karapetyan noted, adding that this registered gas couldn’t just
"disappear" between the two metres. Karapetyan said the metre on the
Georgia border was out-dated while the metre in Armenia is more modern.
Russia used the incident to call Georgia an untrustworthy transit
country. Russian owned Gazprom is in talks to get a stake in the
Iran-Armenia natural gas pipeline. It is stated in Gazprom that
after finishing the construction of the natural gas pipeline there
would not be any problems in transporting natural gas to Armenia. The
Iran-Armenia natural gas pipeline will supply 36 billion cubic metres
(bcm) of natural gas to Armenia for the next 20 years.
Georgian Ministry of Energy refuses to comment on the Russian
accusations. Head of the Natural Gas Transportation Company Rezo
Urushadze states that all accusations are wrong but if there has been
a mistake, Georgia will provide Armenia with an additional amount of
natural gas to make up the difference.