The Georgian Oil & Gas Corporation (GOGC) said it has repaired a section of the pipeline pumping Russian gas to Georgia and Armenia, which was damaged by an avalanche in the early hours of December 18.
"The damaged section has been repaired and is undergoing tests," company director Alexander Khetaguri said.
Russia's energy giant Gazprom said Tuesday that Armenia's underground gas storage facilities may be empty this winter if Georgia fails to restore its pipeline pumping Russian gas on time.
"If repair work continues for a long time, Armenia may have no more gas in its underground storage facilities this winter," the official spokesman for the state-run natural gas monopoly, Sergei Kupriyanov, said.
Kupriyanov said the Georgian Gas Transportation Company, a GOGC's asset, promised to repair the pipeline Monday but later said it will take several days.
A reserve branch pumping 1.2 million cubic meters of gas per day is currently being used to ensure supplies to Armenia, which in the past received around 10 million cubic meters per day in winter.
