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Turkey right to reject Iranian gas offer – expert

Business Materials 20 April 2015 16:01 (UTC +04:00)
Recently, Iranian oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that Tehran has offered Turkey to double gas import from Iran instead of discounts in gas price. However, Turkey rejected the offer.
Turkey right to reject Iranian gas offer – expert

Baku, Azerbaijan, April 19

By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:

Recently, Iranian oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that Tehran has offered Turkey to double gas import from Iran instead of discounts in gas price. However, Turkey rejected the offer.

Iran is selling about 27 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) of natural gas to Turkey, but the sides dispute the quality-quantity and price of natural gas.

Turkey filed two complaints with the International Court of Arbitration accusing Iran of overcharging as well as citing the low quality and quantity of delivered gas. Minister Taner Yıldız said earlier that the court is set to issue its final verdict on the dispute in May.

Turkey rightly rejected the Iranian offer, Director of Hydrocarbons, France, Mediterranean Energy Observatory (OME) Sohbet Karbuz told Trend April 19.

Almost 10 billion standard cubic meters per year supply contract of BOTAS with Iran will expire in July 2026, he said, adding that entry point of Eastern Anatolia pipeline (from Iran) at Gurbulak, Agri in Turkey is only sufficient to accommodate the existing contract.

"For any additional import quantity this pipeline capacity should be expanded, which means additional cost," he observed.

"Karbuz asserted that Turkey should accept such an offer only provided that the new contract has non-oil-indexed elements, or preferably hub-based; and has no destination clause which would enable Turkey to re-export it if she wishes," said Karbuz.

"Otherwise there is no point for Turkey of doubling the gas imports from Iran with outrageous price tag. At least for the price and diversity of supply reasons Turkey should intensify its efforts for bringing north Iraqi gas to the domestic market."

The expert also answered a question a statement by Russia saying that Presidnet Vladimir Putin signed an oil-to-good deal with Iran on April 13 and Kremlin ratified that today.

As for the potential oil-to-good deal between Russia and Iran, I would see it more of an oil swap-to good deal that would benefit Iran until the sanctions are removed or not removed, he said.

He pointed out that for both Tehran and Moscow the deal would mean also re-energizing the petrodollar Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad(Venezuelan and Iranian former presidents) once wished.

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