SHANA � A senior Iranian gas official says Tehran still honors a gas deal it signed with Georgia back in 2016.

Hamid Reza Araghi, Iranian deputy petroleum minister for gas affairs, told Shana that Iran is geographically able to send gas to various countries but for exporting gas to Georgia, agreements must be made with Armenia as well.

"Armenia's agreement to swap the gas is one of the prerequisites for Iran's gas export to Georgia besides construction of the required infrastructure and suitable pricing," he added.

Araghi, who also presides over the state-run National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said, "Once Iran, Armenia and Georgia finalize a gas export agreement, the private sector will buy gas from NIGC and pay the swap costs to Iran and Armenia to be able to deliver the item to Georgia."

So far a private company has taken steps to export Iranian gas to Georgia but no cargoes have reached Georgian customers from Iran as of today, he added.

The Georgian International Energy Corporation signed a deal with the NIGEC in August for import of 40 million cubic meters of gas from Iran.

Under the deal, 40 million cubic meters of gas would be sent to Georgia in a four-month period.

GIEC, a private company, engages in the generation and transmission of energy from hydro power plants, coal fired power plants, and coal power plants in Georgia.

It also engages in the import and distribution of gas to industrial customers, including cement, brick, glass, wine, and chemical manufacturers; and import of diesel from Azerbaijan for wholesale.

The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Tbilisi, Georgia. Georgian International Energy Corporation operates as a subsidiary of The Georgian Industrial Group.