Turkmenistan resumes gas exports to Iran after six years

Iranian Deputy Minister of Oil and CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), Majid Chegeni, has announced the resumption of gas imports from Turkmenistan.

Test deliveries of 10 million cubic metres of gas from Turkmenistan were successfully completed earlier, Chegeni said in an interview with Iran's Mehr news agency on August 9.

He said Iran further intends to increase imports of Turkmen gas, as well as participate in projects to develop and exploit gas fields in Turkmenistan.

"We have agreed with the Turkmen side on gas imports under two - short-term and long-term scenarios," the NIGC head said.

As for the company's debt to Turkmengaz, Chegeni said, "NIGC has repaid the debt by breaking it into three stages."

According to the Chronicles of Turkmenistan, the volume of Turkmen gas supplied under the swap scheme to Azerbaijan via Iran increased from 4.5 to 8 million cubic meters per day.

Swap gas supplies from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan via Iran with a volume of 4.5 million cubic meters per day began in January 2022.

The imminent resumption of gas supplies and an increase in its transit through Iran were discussed during the visit of Chairman of Halk Maslakhaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Tehran in May this year.

In June, Chegeni said Iraq had paid off its $2.76 billion debt to Iran for gas supplies. Earlier, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Ouji said the amount would be used to pay off Iran's debt to Turkmenistan.

In January 2017, Turkmenistan halted gas supplies to Iran due to a dispute between Turkmengaz and NIGC. In 2018, the parties sued each other in International Arbitration, which in 2020 presumably (neither party disclosed the final decision) sided with Turkmenistan. The Turkmen side demanded payment of $1.8 billion owed by Iran for excess gas supplies.