ASHGABAT: Turkmenistan has resumed gas supplies to Iran after a brief stoppage for repairs along a stretch of pipeline linking the two countries, the Turkmen state gas company said yesterday.
Iran buys almost a third of Turkmenistan’s exported gas, relying on it for heating in winter and using it year round to meet industrial demand in regions distant from the country’s own fields clustered around the Gulf.
Turkmengaz Chairman Sahatmurad Mamedov said Iran had requested the halt. He denied an Iranian news report on November 14 that the former Soviet republic and Iran were in a dispute over pricing.
“Supplies were stopped at their initiative. The pipeline was repaired and put back into operation,” he said on the sidelines of an energy conference. “We’re now supplying the same volumes as before, in line with our contract.”
Turkmengaz later issued a statement saying the stoppage occurred “several days ago” on a stretch of pipeline between Artyk in Turkmenistan and Lutfabad in Iran. It said there had been no contract dispute between the two countries.
“Gas supplies along the Artyk-Luftabad gas pipeline were temporarily halted at the request of the Iranian side because of a need to carry out repair work on the territory of Iran,” the company said. “When the work was completed, gas supplies were renewed.” Neither Turkmengaz nor Mamedov specified the contracted volumes or the exact dates on which supplies were halted.
Reuters
