The Gazprom Company has confirmed its intention to participate in the construction of an Iran-Armenia oil-products pipeline, said Valery Golubev, Vice-Chairman of the Management Board, Gazprom JSC.

He noted that the project is realistic and the company intends to participate in it through its subsidiary company ArmRosGazprom, K2kapital reports. The project will be implemented under Gazprom’s investment programs. As regards the construction of an oil refinery in Armenia, Golubev stressed that the project was frozen as unprofitable. “First, the market has not yet been determined. Armenia’s market is too narrow and the issue on supply of oil products has not been settled yet,” Golubev said.

Earlier, RA Energy and Natural Resources Ministry informed that an Armenian-Iranian group was completing technical work to size up the diameter for future oil-products pipeline from the oil refinery in Tebriz (Iran) to the city of Yeraskh (Armenia). Gazprom through ArmRosGazprom can have a 5%-10% share in the project, which is to be launched this year. The designed annual capacity of the pipeline is 1.5 m tons. Armenia’s annual fuel demand is 450,000-500,000 tons. Part of petrol and diesel will be exported. The project is estimated at U.S $250-$260m.