One of the most important economic developments of the recent period in Armenia is the opening of the Iran-Armenia pipeline, which presentation was organized in participation with the presidents of Armenia and Iran yesterday.
40 km of the Armenian part of the pipeline has already been constructed. Now the pipeline is in being tested and in several months it will be connected to the Armenian gas distribution network. The pipeline is capable to import 1.2 billion cm gas per year. By the year 2019 the pipeline capacity will be improved and will be capable to import 2.3 billion cm per year.
Very often people criticize the fact that the diameter of the pipeline is 700mm and does not allow to import more gas and become a transition country. To note, according to the contract between the countries (period of validity is 20 years), Armenia shall give 3 kilowatt energy to Iran instead of getting 1 cm gas. It is expected that the mentioned energy will be produced at the fifth energetic bloc of Hrazdan, which belongs to the Russians. However, the government has not decided yet by whom the Armenian part of the pipeline will be managed. Following the series of confidential meetings with the Russians it was spoken that instead of defining $110 for one cm gas imported from Russia to Armenia the Armenian government has agreed to give the Iran-Armenia pipeline and the fifth energetic bloc of Hrazdan to the Russians. However, those rumors were refuted and instead of the word “pipeline” they used the words “some gas spheres”, which does not mean anything. Some time later the head of “ArmRusGazard” (ARG) company, Karen Karapetyan said that their company would not mind to manage the pipeline since, as he said, they could manage the pipeline better than any other companies in Armenia.
Many analysts, included political scientist Stepan Grigoryan think that it is not right to give the pipeline to the Russians since our experience has shown that they don’t operate the companies that our government gives them (the companies that were given to them instead of our national debt). Besides that, they say that the West may not like this policy.
Notwithstanding, definitely the pipeline will be managed by the “ARG” as it is not so difficult for them to do it. This fact was not an obstacle for the Armenian and Iranian presidents to be present at the presentation occasion of the pipeline and ‘burn the gas’ symbolizing the pipeline. The Iranian president said that there are no problems between our countries and the joint programs were to develop closer cooperation.
To note, the weather was not good that day and the president of Iran arrived at the border not by helicopter, but by car. As for president Kocharyan, he waited at the border over 4 hours for the Iranian president to arrive. “Despite the bad weather the president of Iran is here and this witnesses the good relationship that we have” said president Kocharyan and added that the Iran-Armenia pipeline opens a new window for developing closer cooperation between the two countries.