No Problems with Gas Import from Iran: Only Gas Stations Not Supplied, Says Hakob Vardanyan

“Gazprom Armenia” announced yesterday about the restrictions on gas supply due to existing issues in the network. This is not the first time that Gazprom Armenia temporarily halts gas supply because of problems in the gas distribution network, but it is the first time that citizens across Armenia have felt the impact directly at gas stations and in various public places due to the supply stoppages.

Previously, when such issues arose at Gazprom, the Armenian authorities would supply gas from reserves until the problems were resolved. However, according to Mediaport's information, Armenia currently does not have any stored gas reserves as the available resources have been exhausted and not replenished.

In the past, another solution existed. At the request of the Armenian authorities, neighboring Iran would increase the volumes of gas supplied to Armenia until the issues in the distribution network were resolved. According to Mediaport, the Armenian government has contacted Iran with a similar request, but it has been declined.

Auroranews reached out to the spokesperson of Gazprom Armenia, Mikael Harutyunyan, to clarify whether Armenia has any gas reserves and what the reason is for the current situation. They requested to submit a written inquiry to respond to these questions. It was noted that written responses usually come within 5 working days, making any publication after 5 working days premature.

We discussed the issue with Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Hakob Vardanyan. He noted in our conversation, “The information that Armenia lacks gas reserves is absolutely false. Gazprom Armenia has gas stored at maximum capacity in its reserves. It should be noted that the current gas consumption level is quite high, at around 12.5 million cubic meters per day, whereas in the summer, consumption is about 4-5 million cubic meters. According to Gazprom Armenia, the maximum daily discharge capacity of their gas reserves is 6 million cubic meters. That is why a precautionary statement has been made that gas disconnects may occur. We have no issues importing gas from Iran; in fact, I can say that the volume of imports has increased to the current possible levels. At this moment, only gas stations are not being supplied with gas, and this is done for safety considerations, while there are also no power outages,” our interlocutor emphasized.