Iran has signed a trial agreement on gas export to Georgia via Armenia.

The Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said the aforementioned after the meeting with the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia Levon Yolyan, Iranian IRNA news agency reports. 

According to Mr Zangeneh, the Armenian side has arrived to participate in the talks at the invitation of Iranian colleagues in order to discuss the possibilities of gas transit to Georgia. The Iranian side approved the initiative.

The organization which will purchase Iranian gas in Armenia has also changed: earlier it was Yerevan thermal power plant, while now that will be another organization, Zangeneh noted.

This new organization will coordinate the upcoming direct gas sale agreements and gas transit to other regions from the country.

“Of course, Armenia is not a major consumer but can open an important way for Iranian gas exports and in this field there has been agreement between the two sides,” Zangeneh said.

The Minister also noted that Armenia has raised the call for increase in import of Iranian gas and by 2018 it would like to import from Iran three million cubic meters of gas per day instead of one million cubic meters.”

In the Minister’s words, the coefficient of gas-power barter between Iran and Armenia has slightly changed: Iran used to receive three kilowatts of power from Armenia on border in exchange for one cubic meter of gas sale to the country and the amount has now risen to 3.2 kilowatts per hour of electricity

The capacity of Iran-Armenia gas export pipeline is 2.3 billion cubic meters annually. Iran supplies gas to Armenia for thermal power plants.