The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan has issued a press release on the conflicting reports on Turkmen-Iranian relations in the gas sphere that appeared in recent days in the mass media outlets of Iran and other countries.
Some reports talk about the alleged termination of Turkmen gas supplies to Iran as of 1 January 2017, calling it “unexpected and contradicting the terms of the bilateral agreement”. On the contrary, other reports say that “Iran has signed a 5-year contract with Turkmenistan on Turkmen gas supplies.”
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan states that there is no basis for dissemination of such misleading information, which is diametrically opposite by nature and illogical by content.
In fact, Turkmenistan has supplied natural gas to Iran since December 1997 in accordance and strict compliance with the terms of the contract on the purchase and sale of gas.
However, it is unfortunate that the National Iranian Gas Company has not made sufficient effort since 2013 to pay off its debt for previous Turkmen gas supplies to the Islamic Republic of Iran. As a result, the Iranian side has accumulated a considerable debt that creates financial obstacles for the normal operation of Turkmenistan’s gas transportation infrastructure that is used for gas supplies to Iran under the long-term contract.
In 2016, the Iranian side was officially repeatedly informed of the adverse situation in the sphere of gas supplies and possible cuts in Turkmen natural gas supplies. At the same time, it was stressed that delaying debt payment to the State Concern “Turkmengaz”, which is a self-accounting and self-financing enterprise, may lead to the technical stoppage of operations at gas wells, compressor stations, gas treatment plants and other elements of the gas system of Turkmenistan that is used for gas supplies to Iran. At the same time, the Turkmen side has made a series of proposals aimed at facilitating the resolution of the pending issues.
However, the lack of positive reaction by the National Iranian Gas Company to the constructive initiatives of Turkmenistan, its passive stance in searching for a mutually acceptable solution have led to the forced cut of Turkmen gas supplies to Iran starting from January 1, 2017.
In view of the above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan notes that any attempts to politicize this issue, no matter where they come from, will be regarded as unfriendly actions towards Turkmenistan and immediately refuted by the Turkmen side.
According to the Iranian IRNA agency, Turkmenistan daily exports up to 4.3 mcm of gas to Iran. The imported gas is delivered mainly in the northern parts of the country, as the main Iranian gas fields are in the south.