Rosneft to decide on participation in Armenia’s Nairit productionSeptember 3, 2013 - 18:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian oil major Rosneft agreed with Italian Pirelli to visit Armenia’s Nairit to assess possible lines of cooperation, Rosneft press service said. At the meeing with Nairit director general Hovhannes Akhinyan, Rosneft President Igor Sechin discussed potential possibilities of Rosneft participation in production of chloroprene rubber at Nairit. Rosneft will decide on participation in the project after an audit, as well as upon completion of talks with the Armenian government. According to earlier reports, Rosneft and gas producer Itera were in talks with the Armenian government to make investments in the country’s largest petrochemical plant. Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan repeatedly noted that $400-500mln is needed to upgrade Nairit plant. Nairit specialises in the production of chloroprene rubber. In 2006, 90% of Nairit’s shares were sold to British Rainoville Property Limited for $40 million. The remaining 10% belong to the Armenian government. According to some estimates, a comprehensive upgrading of this facility will require hundreds of millions of dollars. Nairit has been operating at minimal capacity since a gas price hike in 2010 made production unprofitable. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Police try to impede Armenian Church head’s access to war memorial Police tried to stop the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, from visiting a war memorial. Greece says ready to help as Armenia fights flooding consequences Greece is ready to assist Armenia in combatting the consequences of deadly floods in the country’s north. “He will leave”: Protest leader no longer demands meeting with Pashinyan Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan no longer demands a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. |