TEHRAN -- National Iranian Gas Export Company Managing Director Seyyed Reza Kasaiizadeh announced that Iran started the exportation of natural gas to Armenia on Wednesday.

High ranking officials from both countries attended the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline inauguration ceremony, SHANA reported.
According to the deal signed in May 2004, Armenia will pay for the gas with electricity it produces at a Soviet-era nuclear power plant.
Based on the agreement Iran is supposed to transfer 3 million cubic meters of gas per day to Armenia by the end of 2010, and from the beginning of 2011 raise this volume up to 4 million cubic meters per day.
The volume of gas exports could gradually rise to 6.3 million cubic meters per day.
In exchange, Armenia will pay 3 kilowatt/hours of electricity for each cubic meter of the Iranian gas.
The NIGEC managing director said the pipeline has a diameter of 30 inches and runs for 113 kilometers from Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province to the Iran-Armenia border.
The two countries had originally agreed to finalize the project in January 2007, but the Armenians later said they were not ready