Turkmenistan discussing increase in annual gas supply to Iran to 40 bcm

ASHGABAT. Aug 29 (Interfax) - Turkmenistan is set to increase gas supply to Iran to 40 billion cubic meters per year, speaker of the upper chamber of the Turkmen parliament Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow said at negotiations with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on Wednesday, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper said on Thursday.

Gas was named a key area of economic cooperation at the talks, the newspaper said.

Larger supply would require an upgrade of gas transmission infrastructure, construction of new facilities, and attraction of investments, Berdimuhamedow said.

Hence, it is planned to build two gas compressor stations and a 125-kilometer gas pipeline in Turkmenistan to supply additional amounts of Turkmen natural gas to the Caloyuk gas metering station, he said.

The exports of Turkmen natural gas to Iraq and Turkey via Iran are due to begin on swap terms in the near future, Berdimuhamedow said.

It was reported earlier that Turkmenistan supplies gas to Azerbaijan via Iran on swap terms. Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan concluded the gas swap contract in November 2021. The contract envisages the delivery of 1.5 bcm - 2 bcm of Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan by Iran in exchange for the same amount of gas from Turkmenistan.

In August 2023, National Iranian Gas Company Managing Director Majid Chegeni said commenting on the gas swap contract with Turkmenistan that Turkmen gas supply to Iran grew from 4.5 million cubic meters to 8 million cubic meters per day.

A trial delivery of 10 mcm of Turkmen gas per day was successfully completed in August 2023, he said. Iranian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Gholam Abbas Arbab Khales told journalists that there is a potential of supplying up to 20 mcm of Turkmen gas daily on swap terms.

In the future, Turkmenistan plans to supply gas to Iraq via Iran on swap terms. The Turkmengaz state-run company and the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity signed a memorandum of mutual understanding on gas supply in Baghdad in October 2023.

Negotiations between Turkmengaz and an Iraqi delegation led by Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadel in Ashgabat in November 2023 resulted in the signing of a protocol on main commercial terms of a contract of sales and purchase of Turkmen natural gas by Iraq. According to the protocols, 9 bcm of Turkmen gas will be annually transported to Iraq via Iran in the next five years on swap terms.