Discussion of Environmental and social impact assessment of the Ninotsminda underground gas storage project held

20 July, 2010
The Ministry of Energy hosted the discussion of scoping document on Environmental and social impact assessment of the Ninotsminda underground gas storage.

Representatives of scientific circles, Sagarejo local self-government bodies, Georgian Green Movement, Green Alternative and Energy Effectiveness Center attended the discussion.

During the meeting they noted that the storage is to be constructed on the Ninotsminda oil field located in the Sagarejo district and estimated cost of the project is 270 000 000 US dollars.

The estimated capacity of the underground gas storage facility is 450 million cubic meters.

In 2010 interim document related to the storage will be developed and in January, 2011 environmental impact assessment is to be completed.

The ministry of Energy does not consider the development of alternative sources of energy, namely solar and wind accumulators in the nearest future as they are not considered to be economically cost effective.

The objective of building the underground gas storage is to increase the effectiveness of gas usage transported through Georgia, in particular, to achieve seasonal stability of gas usage. However it is still uncertain if the underground gas storage will influence gas tariffs in Georgia.