Iran cuts off Turkey gas exports

TEHRAN – Iran on Wednesday said it had cut off its gas exports to Turkey owing to a supply crunch at home brought on by the cold weather, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

“Currently, our export (of gas) to Turkey is zero,” Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said. Iran has been supplying Turkey with gas through a pipeline from Tabriz to Ankara since 2001, under a major contract that mandates the Islamic republic to supply several billion cubic metres of gas annually.”We have a long-term contract with Turkey, but due to the internal problems we were not able to fulfil them.Turkey is severely suffering from shortage,” Vaziri Hamaneh admitted.”I apologised to the Turkish energy minister (Hilmi Guler) in a telephone conversation and promised to address these problems as soon as possible,” he added.Vaziri Hamaneh expressed hope that the opening of a major new gas refinery in Iran’s southern Fars province “by the end of a week” would help solve the issue.Under the gas contract signed by Iran and Turkey in 1996, Iran was obliged to supply three billion cubic metres to Turkey in the first year, with the volume rising to 10 billion cubic metres by 2007.However the supply has been hit by wrangling about price and quality as well as sporadic attacks on the pipeline blamed on Kurdish militants.The export cut to Turkey has highlighted the difficulties Iran has experienced this winter supplying some areas of the country with gas.Vazriri Hamaneh said that supply was normal around the country except for certain areas in the northern Kordestan and West Azarbaijan provinces where the “gas has been cut due to the decrease of pressure” in the pipelines.Nampa-AFPIran has been supplying Turkey with gas through a pipeline from Tabriz to Ankara since 2001, under a major contract that mandates the Islamic republic to supply several billion cubic metres of gas annually.”We have a long-term contract with Turkey, but due to the internal problems we were not able to fulfil them.Turkey is severely suffering from shortage,” Vaziri Hamaneh admitted.”I apologised to the Turkish energy minister (Hilmi Guler) in a telephone conversation and promised to address these problems as soon as possible,” he added.Vaziri Hamaneh expressed hope that the opening of a major new gas refinery in Iran’s southern Fars province “by the end of a week” would help solve the issue.Under the gas contract signed by Iran and Turkey in 1996, Iran was obliged to supply three billion cubic metres to Turkey in the first year, with the volume rising to 10 billion cubic metres by 2007.However the supply has been hit by wrangling about price and quality as well as sporadic attacks on the pipeline blamed on Kurdish militants.The export cut to Turkey has highlighted the difficulties Iran has experienced this winter supplying some areas of the country with gas.Vazriri Hamaneh said that supply was normal around the country except for certain areas in the northern Kordestan and West Azarbaijan provinces where the “gas has been cut due to the decrease of pressure” in the pipelines.Nampa-AFP