Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.11
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran does not need to import gas from Turkmenistan,Iran's oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said.
Iran imports gas from Turkmenistan because the country seeks to expand political and economic relations with Turkmenistan,Iran's Shana news agency quoted Zanganeh as saying on Aug. 11.
Iran plans to increase its gas production by 200 million cubic meters by the end of the next year, he added.
The Iranian calendar year starts on March 21.
Mohammad-Taqi Amanpour, advisor to the Iranian oil minister, said on August 10 that Iran has purchased €2 billion worth of natural gas from Turkmenistan in recent years.
Iran is willing to pave the way for exporting goods to Turkmenistan in return for importing natural gas from that country, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on May 5.
Zanganeh made the remarks in a meeting with Turkmen Vice-President Khajeh Mohammadov in Tehran.
The ground is well-prepared for barter trade with Turkmenistan, according to which Iran will export goods in return for purchase of the Turkmen gas, Zanganeh said.
Iran gets Turkmen gas via several branches. The Korpeje - Kurt-Kui gas pipeline, commissioned in December 1995, is the main one. Its capacity was brought to eight billion cubic meters per year with the potential of increasing the capacity to 14 billion cubic meters. The Iranian National Gas Export Company acts as a gas buyer.
Edited by CN