Iran will double its natural gas supply to Armenia under an extended gas-for-electricity swap deal that will run until early 2031.
Iran’s Oil Ministry said in a report that Iran and Armenia had renewed a contract for swap of Iranian gas for Armenian electricity as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was in Tehran for an official visit earlier on Tuesday.
Deputy Oil Minister Majid Chegeni, who signed off on the extension of the contract, said that Iran’s supply of gas to Armenia will double to 2 million cubic meters (mcm) per day under the new arrangement.
“Based on this, electricity swap figures will be modified in line with the increase in the size of gas exports,” Chegeni was quoted as saying by Shana.ir.
The official IRNA news agency said that under the renewed deal, Iran and Armenia will commit to swapping gas for electricity until the end of the Iranian calendar year 1409 (March 2023).
Iran is a major producer and exporter of natural gas and electricity in the West Asia region. However, the country imports limited volumes of electricity from countries to its north to respond to peak demand over hot summer days and also during winters when Iranian power plants may face shortages of natural gas.
Iran’s gas supplies to Armenia are small compared to the volumes exported to Iraq and Turkey which amount to 70 mcm per day during peak days.