YEREVAN, March 17. /ARКА/. Russian natural gas will be temporarily shipped to Armenia through Azerbaijan due to the repair of a section of the North Caucasus-Transcaucasia gas pipeline, Russian business daily Kommersant reports with reference to Gazprom Export.
Russian natural gas is shipped to Armenia by Gazprom company through the territory of Georgia. The newspaper says that on March 16, Gazprom signed a short-term contract with Azerbaijani state oil company for the transportation of gas to Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan.
“The contract stipulates that during scheduled preventive maintenance work on the Russian section of the North Caucasus-Transcaucasia gas pipeline, gas will be supplied to consumers through the territory of Azerbaijan to the border with Georgia,” Gazprom Export said in a statement.
After the repair, which is said to take about three weeks, the natural gas will be shipped along the previous route across the border of Russia and Georgia.
In December 2020, Gazprom Export and Gazprom Armenia, a subsidiary of Gazprom, extended the gas supply contract for the first quarter of 2021 only.
Armenia also receives natural gas from Iran, but in small volumes and exclusively under the gas for electricity contract.
On December 31, 2018 Russia’s Gazprom raised the price of natural gas it ships to Armenia across Georgia from $150 per one thousand cubic meters to $165.
Although the Russian natural gas is delivered to Armenia by Gazprom at a $165 per one thousand cubic meters, Gazprom’s Armenian subsidiary – Gazprom Armenia – sells it to the bulk of Armenian households at almost $300.
Gazprom Armenia also deals with the storage, distribution and sale of gas. -0-