Armenian Hummers...Powered by Natural Gas!

I don't normally report on rumors and "he says, she says" sorts of things, but this is a funny one: at least one Armenian Hummer owner has converted his car to natural gas, as it's cheaper than gasoline! Why is this funny? Well...

1) Hummers are expensive: an H2 Hummer costs around $50,000 in the United States, probably more in Armenia.
2) Hummer are inefficient: they burn a lot of fuel, because they're very heavy.
3) Most people hate them, as they are dangerous to others, both cars and pedestrians, and pollute much more.

Now, none of the above is entirely funny, but combine them, if you will: purchasing an expensive, big, heavy, and inefficient car, shipping it to Armenia, causing terror on the streets of Yerevan while displaying your wealth...and having to convert it to natural gas for it to be lighter on your wallet!

Okay, if that isn't entirely great - and to be honest, it isn't that funny after all - rumor also has it that the owners fill their cars up at night so no one sees! Ah, I love Armenia's many contradictions.

Source: ArmenianOdar

Turkey to Send Oil, Gas, Water to Israel

Wonder why Israel has no opinion on Karabakh? Wonder why the Jewish lobby is against the Armenian Genocide resolution? You can add one more reason to the list:

Turkey and Israel have tentatively agreed on building a network of pipelines to ship oil, natural gas and water from Turkey to Israel...Under the project, a pipeline already carrying Russian natural gas to Turkey will be extended to deliver supplies to Israel, the ministry said. The deal was reached earlier this month...

The oil shipments to Israel would be delivered through an extension of either an existing Iraqi oil pipeline to Ceyhan or one that Turkey is planning to build from Samsun to Ceyhan to export Caspian oil, the ministry said. Turkey would also build a new fresh water pipeline to carry Turkish water from the Mediterranean region to Israel.

There's one of your answers to a hundred questions. We must tackle Armenian issues now before they become impossible later.

Source: Boston

Armenia Wants Participation in Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline

From the source:

"Armenia would like to take part in the construction and negotiations over the matter are under way now. However, they produced no results so far", he [Oskanyan] said. The minister said Armenia should make all possible efforts not to be left on sidelines, since participation in the project will enable the country to diversify its energy system.

The project is estimated to cost $2.5bln to 3bln. The two-thousand-kilometer gas pipeline will start from Turkmenistan and cross Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Look at the above map and note why Armenia would very much like to take part in this project!

Source: Arka

Will Georgia Increase Gas Transit Price?

Armenians celebrated when the government worked out a special deal with Russia to keep the cost of natural gas down. But our joy could soon turn to sorrow.

Now that Georgia has agreed to buy Russian gas at the increased price, the question is will Georgia increase its transit price to Armenia. Armenia receives Russian gas via Georgia's pipeline.

MP Niko Lekishvili chairman of the parliamentary committee of sector economy and economic policy categorically denies the possibility of such a decision. He says that Georgia will not take a step which could hurt its relations with Armenia.

Let's hope not! After all, someone should tell them that it wasn't such a great deal for us, what with having to give them a power station for temporary fixing of the prices!

Source: The Messenger

Iran Ready to Send Gas, Armenia Not Ready to Receive It

We've reported earlier about Iran's exporting of natural gas to Armenia in January of this year, but it turns out that it will happen much later, because we didn't bother getting ready!

Iran has completed setting up the facilities required for the exportation of natural gas to Armenia, reported the Iran Daily. Although Iran is prepared to export the gas at any time, Armenia is not yet ready to receive it and a meeting is scheduled between both sides in late March. As part of the deal, Armenia will also export power to Iran.

Well, there you have it. I am very interested in finding out the pricing structure for the imported gas. Will it put us at odds with Russia?

Source: AmeInfo

Armenia: World Leader in Natural Gas Vehicles

Armenians have always been ready to adapt to new technology as they require it - and this is no different.

The transport ministry estimates that between 20 and 30 percent of vehicles in Armenia run on gas. That compares to just over 3 percent in the Netherlands, a front-runner in natural gas-powered transport, according to the World LP Gas Association.

In landlocked Armenia, it is not concerns over climate change or global warming that are driving growth in natural gas-powered vehicles. Instead, it is harsh necessity - and an unresolved war with Azerbaijan, its neighbor to the east.

"Petrol is getting more expensive," said Transport and Communications Minister Andranik Manukian. "(Natural) gas ... has not gone up by that much so it is preferable to use it."

Back in the late 1980s, my father had his Niva converted to natural gas. The car worked as normal, except it had one enormous red bottle - or more like a barrel - where the trunk space should have been. Oh, and it almost usually had a faint gas smell coming from it. Of course, gas doesn't smell, but an aroma is added so you could smell if you were in trouble and get out. Needless to say, that smell didn't matter then and it doens't matter now, even despite the fact that a majority of Armenians smoke regularly. However, I've heard - and they may just be urban legends - of some buses on natural gas exploding into flames in Yerevan and injuring or possibly even killing people nearby.

I encourage you to read the full article linked below.

Source: Topix

Gas Pricing in Armenia Changed

Looks like Armenia is working hard to find a pricing structure that works.

Armenian government decided...to drive gas prices for those consuming less than 10 thousand cubic meters a month down from AMD 90,000 to 84,000 per 1,000 cubic meter.

Industrial entities consuming over 10,000 cubic meters will have their gas prices increased.

For your reference, $1 is about AMD 445 as of today.

Source: Arka

Russian Gas Pipeline Ruptures

According to ArmeniaLiberty, the section of the pipeline going through Georgia has been damaged.

Armenia was receiving a fraction of its regular gas supplies from Russia for a third consecutive day on Wednesday due to the reported rupture at a vital pipeline running through neighboring Georgia.

Georgian officials say a section of the pipeline was ruptured by an avalanche on Sunday. Armenia has since been importing Russian gas through a much smaller reserve pipeline.

Russian gas is used for generating about 40 percent of Armenia's electricity. It is also the principal source of winter heating.

And yet again, our previous post makes perfect sense!

Iran to Ship Gas to Armenia

According to Bloomberg,

Iran will start shipping gas through a pipeline to Armenia in January, the Tehran Times reported Sunday, citing an Iranian official.

About 1 million cubic meters of natural gas will be shipped daily through the 160-kilometer pipeline, said Mohammad-Reza Akbari, the managing director of Payandan, the company operating the pipeline. That will increase to 3 million cubic meters per day “later on,” he said.

It's pretty obvious that this is the first step towards greater cooperation between the two countries, as seen in a previous post. Independence from Russia's gas monopoly is always a good thing, but there may be a greater price to pay.