BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 11
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) will not pay fines to Turkmenistan's Turkmengaz Company, according to the decision of the Stockholm International Arbitration Court, said Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, Trend reports referring to Shana news agency.
He made the remark at an event on the signing of a contract on the development of the Yaran joint oil field (the field is called Majnoon field in Iraq).
The minister stressed that the court ruled that NIGC must pay its debt to the Turkmengaz company. However, the court took into account the request of the company to investigate the quality and quantity of the gas exported by Turkmengaz to Iran.
According to the court's decision, NIGC will not pay additional fines to Turkmengaz.
"The issue of how Iran will pay its debts is on the agenda,” the minister said adding that upon the court's decision, the existing contract between the companies of the two countries is considered terminated.
Zanganeh noted that the signing of a new contract between the two gas companies will be known later.
A 25-year contract between the National Iranian Gas Company and the Turkmengaz company was signed in 1997.
Under the contract, Turkmengaz was to export annually 8-10 billion cubic meters of gas a year to Iran.
It suspended gas exports to Iran in 2016 on the grounds that NIGC did not pay for the gas supply.
According to the decision of the Stockholm International Arbitration Court, the National Iranian Gas Company must pay a debt of $2 billion to the Turkmengaz company.