Report of Oil and Gas corporation presented at Ministry of Economy

Annual Report of the Oil and Gas Corporation and presentation of future plans were held at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. The meeting was attended by Minister Natia Turnava, Deputy Minister Davit Tvalabeishvili and representatives of the corporation.

According to the CEO of the corporation, Giorgi Bakhtadze, the corporation has been making a significant profit in the last few years.

He also emphasized that J.P. Morgan issued a press release on June 11, 2019, following a visit to key issuers in Georgia, according to which the corporation was rated as the most reliable company, and the international rating company upgraded the corporation's long-term rating to BB on October 15 of that year and rated the outlook of the company as stable.

During the presentation, it was noted that the Oil and Gas Corporation is a key instrument in ensuring the reliability of natural gas supply. In addition, the corporation is a representative of the Government of Georgia in major oil and gas transit projects and also has the status of a national oil company. The corporation is a state interest in product distribution agreements.

According to Giorgi Bakhtadze, the corporation has fully financed the construction of Gardabani Thermal Power Station 2 in the east of Tbilisi. It is a 230 MW combined-cycle, state-of-the-art technology. The power plant will be fully operational by the beginning of 2020 and will supply Georgia's unified electricity system with electricity.

Another priority direction of the corporation is the construction/rehabilitation of gas pipelines on the territory of Georgia and the gasification of those regions of the country where there has never been a gas supply, for example, one of the regions of Adjara. According to Giorgi Bakhtadze, only in 2019, the corporation had completed 97 km length of a gas pipeline.

As for future projects, it is planned to start working on the Gardabani 3 combined cycle thermal power plant project in 2020. The plant will use new modification turbines, which will have higher efficiency than previously produced turbines, hence lower natural gas consumption per kWh.

Also, in 2020, EPC (Design, Procurement, Construction) contractor is selected for an underground gas storage project. This project is also implemented by the Oil and Gas Corporation. The completion of gas pipeline construction is planned in 2024.

At the end of the presentation, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Natia Turnava, positively assessed the activities carried out by the Corporation in 2019. According to him, the country's energy security is also very important for the successful operation of the corporation.