Hakob Vartanian, a deputy minister of territorial administration and infrastructures, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the governments of the two states will finalize a corresponding agreement during Territorial Administration Minister Gnel Sanosian’s visit to Tehran next week.
Armenia has imported roughly 350 million cubic meters of Iranian gas annually under a swap deal agreed more than a decade ago. It has paid for the fuel with electricity generated by Armenian thermal power plants and exported to the Islamic Republic.
The deal runs until 2026. Vartanian said that it will be extended by four years.
“There is now an agreement to increase that volume to up to 600 million cubic meters per annum,” added the official.
In his words, Armenia will be able to import up to 1.8 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas after completing the protracted construction of a third power transmission line connecting it to Iran.
Work on the 276-kilometer Armenian section of the high-voltage line began in 2006 and repeatedly fell behind schedule. It is now slated for completion by the end of 2023.
Russia will likely remain the principal supplier of gas to Armenian households and corporate consumers even after its construction. Armenia buys over 2 billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually, paying $165 per thousand cubic meters.
By comparison, the market-based gas price for Germany and other European Union nations currently stands at $1,200 per thousand cubic meters.