June: 16, 2026
Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor Vahe Davtyan writes: “If today the critical minerals of Armenia are in the center of attention of the USA, then tomorrow the shale reserves, which many have already managed to forget, may return to the agenda.
Meanwhile, American interest in Armenia’s shale resources has a long history.
Back in 1995, within the framework of the “Energy” target program, the RA government decided to carry out geological-research works in order to evaluate and exploit the industrial potential of combustible shale, oil, gas and coal reserves discovered during the Soviet years. However, due to the financial and economic crisis of the 1990s, the initiative remained incomplete.
In 2011, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia and International Minerals registered in the Isle of Man
The agreement provided for a joint assessment and technical study of energy resources, including potential shale gas reserves.
However, the American side’s geological research in Armenia started long before the signing of the said memorandum.
According to the studies of the US Geological Survey, there are about 44 million tons of combustible shale reserves in the Aramus region. American specialists came to this conclusion as a result of research conducted in 1994.
In the 2005 report, the American side had already presented higher estimates, indicating the presence of shale reserves of 17-18 million tons in Ijevan, Shamut and Germanis, and around 128 million tons in the Dilijan region.
Today, in the conditions of increasing geo-economic activity carried out by the US in Armenia, a gradual expansion of American interest in the entire complex of strategic resources of Armenia, from critical minerals to shale resources, is possible.
All this is getting a new character of resource colonization. TRIPP is one of the pillars of that strategy.”
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