86,000 families to be provided with gas in Georgia by year’s end

According to the plan developed by the gas distribution and energy companies, some 86,000 families in Georgia will be provided with gas by the end of 2014, Georgia's Minister of Energy Kakha Kaladze said at a press conference.

According to the plan, an additional 252 villages will be supplied with gas, and a new infrastructure will be created worth tens of millions of lari (one dollar = 1.65 lari).

Monitoring of the gasification process will be undertaken by the Ministry of Energy.

Major work on the gasification of Georgia is conducted by Azerbaijani SOCAR.

In 2012, SOCAR Georgia Gaz, which is a subsidiary of SOCAR Energy Georgia (represents the interests of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan in Georgia), provided gas to 39,5000 new consumers.

According to the agreement signed with the Government of Georgia, SOCAR Georgia Gas will potentially gasify at least 150,000 new customers and invest at least $40 million in the gasification process in the country. It appears, however, that investment will considerably exceed this amount.

On December 26, 2008, SOCAR and the Georgian government signed an agreement to operate 30 gas distribution networks in such regions of Georgia as Kakheti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Shida and Kvemo Kartli, Adjara, Guria, Imereti and Samegrelo. Afterwards, the list of gas supply grids was expanded. All of these facilities had previously been eliminated and seven regional gas facilities under the management of SOCAR were formed based on them. (Trend)