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Thursday,
August 2,
2007, #146 (1413) The Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation contracted with Khazardenizneftegaztikint, an Azerbaijani company, to repair the 30-kilometer Gardabani-Navtlughi section of the North-South natural gas pipeline. The pipeline was heavily damaged by explosions in January 2006, cutting off gas supplies to the country. The company will be replacing 500-mm pipes with 700-mm pipes. Khazardenizneftegaztikint has worked in Georgia before, carrying out similar repairs with Millennium Challenge Georgia (MCG) funding. The Gardabani-Navtlughi works are part of MCG's larger project to upgrade Georgia's energy infrastructure. Started in 2006, the USD 44.5 million project is scheduled to take three years, according to the news agency Regnum. The Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, operating under contract to MCG since last June, is managing repair works at the six most damaged sections of the North-South natural gas pipeline. BP also has a hand in the project, contributing to feasibility studies. In total, MCG is
sinking USD 49.5 million into Georgia's energy sector, of which USD
5 million will go to support the Georgian government as it reforms the
industry.
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Azerbaijani company
repairing Georgia's North-South gas pipeline