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ARMENIA PAYS THE LOWEST PRICE FOR RUSSIAN GAS - PRESIDENT
YEREVAN, March 28. / ARKA /. Russia sells natural gas to Armenia at
$189 per one thousand cubic meters, the lowest export price, set by
Moscow, President Serzh Sargsyan said today during a meeting with
senior officials of the energy and natural resources ministry.
He said this price is fixed in a five-year agreement with Russian
Gazprom and may rise maximum by 5 percent because it is correlated
with domestic gas price in Russia.
Sargsyan said not only Armenian citizens but also foreign business
people are aware of this price. According to him, some foreign business
people are already considering possibilities for relocating their
energy-intensive businesses to Armenia.
The president said there were already such examples. These business
people believe that their products can be exported freely from Armenia
to the Customs Union.
"This, of course, is very good, but many of our country fellows can
not understand why the gas costs $189 when it crosses into Armenia
from Georgia and actually doubles when it reaches their homes. We
need to explain to people how the gas price is formed for end users.
People need to know that we need to replace 30-40 year-old pipes,
bring in up-to-date equipment, and so on. If we fail to explain all
this we may face big problems," he said.
President Sargsyan also expressed satisfaction at the establishment of
an ad hoc parliamentary commission that will look into the government's
recent agreements with Russian Gazprom monopoly and gas supplies
from Russia.
"We have nothing to hide. Let the commission make an inquiry and
present the results to the public." he said.
On January 6, 2014, Armenia's government ceded its 20 percent stake in
the national gas distribution company ArmRosGazprom (ARG) to Russian
Gazprom for $156 million to repay half of the $300 million debt.
Another half of the debt was written off by the Russian monopoly.
Under an agreement with the Armenian government, Gazprom is to deliver
to Armenia 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
ArmRosGazprom was established in December 1997. It dealt with
transportation, storage, distribution and sale of natural gas in
Armenia. On February 25 ArmRosGzprom was officially renamed Gazprom
Armenia. -0-
- See more at:
http://arka.am/en/news/economy/armenia_pays_the_lowest_price_for_russian_gas_pres ident_/#sthash.pSonf7P6.dpuf
YEREVAN, March 28. / ARKA /. Russia sells natural gas to Armenia at
$189 per one thousand cubic meters, the lowest export price, set by
Moscow, President Serzh Sargsyan said today during a meeting with
senior officials of the energy and natural resources ministry.
He said this price is fixed in a five-year agreement with Russian
Gazprom and may rise maximum by 5 percent because it is correlated
with domestic gas price in Russia.
Sargsyan said not only Armenian citizens but also foreign business
people are aware of this price. According to him, some foreign business
people are already considering possibilities for relocating their
energy-intensive businesses to Armenia.
The president said there were already such examples. These business
people believe that their products can be exported freely from Armenia
to the Customs Union.
"This, of course, is very good, but many of our country fellows can
not understand why the gas costs $189 when it crosses into Armenia
from Georgia and actually doubles when it reaches their homes. We
need to explain to people how the gas price is formed for end users.
People need to know that we need to replace 30-40 year-old pipes,
bring in up-to-date equipment, and so on. If we fail to explain all
this we may face big problems," he said.
President Sargsyan also expressed satisfaction at the establishment of
an ad hoc parliamentary commission that will look into the government's
recent agreements with Russian Gazprom monopoly and gas supplies
from Russia.
"We have nothing to hide. Let the commission make an inquiry and
present the results to the public." he said.
On January 6, 2014, Armenia's government ceded its 20 percent stake in
the national gas distribution company ArmRosGazprom (ARG) to Russian
Gazprom for $156 million to repay half of the $300 million debt.
Another half of the debt was written off by the Russian monopoly.
Under an agreement with the Armenian government, Gazprom is to deliver
to Armenia 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
ArmRosGazprom was established in December 1997. It dealt with
transportation, storage, distribution and sale of natural gas in
Armenia. On February 25 ArmRosGzprom was officially renamed Gazprom
Armenia. -0-
- See more at:
http://arka.am/en/news/economy/armenia_pays_the_lowest_price_for_russian_gas_pres ident_/#sthash.pSonf7P6.dpuf