Iran said on Friday its gas exports to Turkey have resumed after being cut a day earlier due to a technical fault, but a Turkish official said Iranian supplies were lower than the required volumes, Trend reports citing Al Arabiya.
“Gas exports to Turkey, which had been suspended yesterday (Thursday, January 20) following a gas leak at a station on the Turkish side, have resumed,” the Iranian Oil Ministry’s news agency SHANA reported.
“The brief pause in the gas exports to Turkey was due to the pressure-boosting station in Turkey needing to make adjustments to receive the gas after a fall in pressure,” SHANA said, without elaborating.
A sector official on the Turkish side said: “While it has to supply 28 million cubic meters of gas per day, Iran has been sending around 2-3 million cubic meters of gas and at low pressure.”
“The system is being disrupted due to the low amount and pressure, The compressor stations on the Turkey side are ready, operational, and there are no technical issues on the Turkish side,” the Turkish official told Reuters on Friday.
Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji told state TV that Iran was supplying 10 million cubic meters per day, starting early on Friday, while repairs were being carried out to stop a leak.
Sector officials in Turkey said on Thursday that Iran had cut gas flows for up to 10 days due to a technical failure, prompting Turkish authorities to order gas-fueled power plants to cut gas use by 40 percent.
Turkey is almost fully dependent on imported gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Iran alone provided 16 percent of Turkey’s natural gas needs in the first 10 months of 2021, according to the latest official data.
Iran has faced gas shortages at home because of record high consumption particularly for household heating in the winter cold and has had to cut supplies to cement plants and other industries.