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VAGUE PROJECT

January 30,2007 00:00

The pessimism round the Russian project on construction of Iranian petroleum refinery in the territory of Armenia doesn’t prevent to speak of it both in Yerevan and Moscow.

After RF President Vladimir Putin’s announcement during the meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Russia in Sochi that Russia would become the first with the volume of investments, the RA authorities officially declared about new economic initiative. Yesterday, the President’s press secretary Victor Soghomonian affirmed the information that official Yerevan and Moscow were discussing the project of construction of petroleum refinery in the south of Armenia, in Meghry. RA President’s press speaker also added “the project is simply an idea, which hasn’t finally designed”. He also considered very exaggerated Russian “Commersant’s” remark about the price of construction /$1,7 milliard/. V. Soghomonian didn’t elucidate the price of the project according to the RA authorities’ and Armenian experts’ remarks.
According to “Arminfo”, Russian “Gaspromnevt” came to arrangement on the project of construction of petroleum refinery in the Armenian territory in 2005, during negotiations about the future of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. And more, the construction of petroleum refinery is also observed politically, as Armenia may find itself in a difficult condition because of exploitation gas and oil pipelines from Azerbaijan to Turkey through Georgia. In addition to it Georgia’s possible accession to NATO.
Certainly, this project isn’t new; it has been spoken about it since 2002 when Michael Kasyanov was the RF Prime Minister. Anatoly Gichman, the analyst from “CIS: oil and gas” analytic center has also affirmed that fact in the interview to “Regnum”. In his opinion the prospect of this project is pessimistic as it became clear that it would be hardly achieved. In his opinion there are some reasons for it: “The economic interest of the project isn’t obvious: if the refined Iranian oil will be given back to Iran again, why will the petroleum refinery be constructed in Armenia? Iran has already noted that it doesn’t want to collaborate with Russian oil and gas companies, and the petroleum refinery is just a Russian project. Besides, Iran wants to construct such establishments just in its territory, and Iran intends to do it in 2012.” And more, the project would be more prospective if Armenian-Turkish border were open, in case of which the refined oil would be supplied to the Eastern regions of Turkey.
In the opinion of Armenian experts the project has no prospect both practically and theoretically. They also think that $2,8 milliard must be invested to achieve the project. In their opinion, this project pursues political proposes for internal use in Armenia and for outside use in Russia.

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