Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 7
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Ankara hopes that Iran will provide Turkey with a discount on the gas supplied to the country, said Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Apr. 7.
He made the remarks in Tehran at a joint press conference with the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, TRT Haber news channel reported.
Erdogan said Turkey buys the most expensive gas from Iran.
He went on to add that in case if Iran provides a discount for Turkey on the supplied gas, Ankara can increase the volume of purchases.
Erdogan visited Tehran on Apr. 7 for a short visit. Turkey's delegation also includes Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Customs and Trade Minister Nurettin Canikli, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz and several other members of the government.
As the Turkish media said, Turkey buys Iran's gas at $490 per 1,000 cubic meters. For Azerbaijan's gas, which is supplied via the South Caucasus Ppeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum), Turkey pays $335 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Meanwhile, Russia's gas costs Turkey $425 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Turkey has a contract with Iran for the supply of 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year, a contract with Russia - for supply of 20 billion cubic meters of gas, and a contract with Azerbaijan - for supply of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Turkey also signed agreements with Algeria and Nigeria for the supply of 4.4 billion and 1.2 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas per year, respectively.
In March 2012, Ankara asked the International Court of Arbitration on the prices of the Iranian gas supplied to Turkey.
As stated previously by the minister of energy and natural resources, Taner Yildiz, Ankara and Tehran will again discuss the prices of the Iranian gas supplied to Turkey. He also said Iran demanded that Turkey withdraw the appeal from the International Court of Arbitration, which is unacceptable for Ankara.
The minister said that during a visit of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani to Turkey, the Iranian delegation proposed Ankara new conditions under which the gas prices can be reduced, but the said terms are unfavorable for Ankara.
Edited by SI
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