Armenia, Iran have capacity to expand gas-for-electricity swap programme, Khudatyan says

Armenia and Iran have the technical capacity to increase the volumes of gas and electricity exchanged under the gas-for-electricity swap programme, Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan said, adding that the timeline for the programme’s expansion has yet to be determined and will be discussed by a joint working group.

“During the meeting, we noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran needs more electricity, while the Republic of Armenia needs gas. We are successfully implementing the gas-for-electricity programme at a certain scale, and it is clear that we have the capacity to expand it. For example, the pipeline has greater transmission capacity,” Khudatyan told reporters.

According to the minister, once the Armenia-Iran 400-kilovolt power transmission line is completed, Armenia will also be able to increase electricity supplies to Iran.

“Therefore, we have the opportunity to expand this arrangement, meaning to mutually supply and receive larger volumes of gas and electricity. We have agreed to establish a working group,” Khudatyan said.

On July 25, Khudatyan met with Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad in Tehran. The sides discussed increasing the volume of Iranian gas supplies to Armenia, expanding energy trade and exploring new areas of cooperation.