Statoil and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have agreed to provide financial support to Georgia in order to improve the country’s capacity to supply energy throughout the winter.
A total of NOK 3.5 million has been earmarked for upgrading of the state-owned Gardabani power plant. Statoil’s share amounts to around NOK 2.7 million.
The power plant needs to be modernised and extended in order to enable Georgia to maintain energy supplies throughout the winter months. In winter, the irregular supply of power is a significant problem for the country. When the work at Gardabani is complete, the plant will be able to run on both liquefied fuel and natural gas.
Statoil is a partner in the two export pipelines for oil and gas that are planned from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. The oil pipeline will pass through Tiblisi in Georgia to the Turkish town of Ceyhan, while the gas pipeline will go via Tiblisi to Erzurum in Turkey.
“Statoil wishes to make an active contribution to positive, long-term development in countries where we operate. The work on the energy side in Georgia is an important and correct way of demonstrating our social responsibility,” reports Georg Gundersen, Statoil's country manager of the Azerbaijan office.
He believes that the contributions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Statoil will make a significant difference for the country and for the population of Georgia.
As soon as all formalities and approvals are in place, the upgrading work of the power plant can begin, confirms Mr Gundersen.