ĦĦĦĦTEHRAN, Oct. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Mideast energy supplier Iran and importer
Turkey have defused a row over gas dealings after Turkish Energy Minister Zeki
Cakan recently paid a visit to Tehran.
ĦĦĦĦAfter talks, the Turkish energy czar signed a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) with his Iranian counterpart Bijan Zangeneh andthe two sides agreed to
resume flow of Iranian gas in the near future.
ĦĦĦĦAccording to the memorandum, the two sides will undertake to prepare
necessary documents for the reopening of gas flow.
ĦĦĦĦThe signing of the document put a lid on their five-month hassle, which was
allegedly linked to Russia's offer of lower gas prices.
ĦĦĦĦThe Turkish side, however, rejected the Iranian allegation that Turkey was
pushing for a price cut after getting a 9 percent discount from Russia.
ĦĦĦĦAnkara instead attributed the issue to the quality of Iranian gas, which it
said was not in line with contract requirements.
ĦĦĦĦIran and Turkey had launched a 2,577-km pipeline last December, which runs
from Iran's northeastern city of Tabriz to Ankara.
ĦĦĦĦUnder a previous deal of 30 billion US dollars, Iran would initially supply
3 billion cubic meters of gas a year and increase it gradually to 10 billion
cubic meters in 2007.
ĦĦĦĦThe Ankara-Tehran spat culminated in a halt to Turkey's import of Iran's
natural gas via the pipeline on June 24.
ĦĦĦĦThe Turkish-Iranian MOU came as a relief of pain for Iran's reformist
President Mohammad Khatami, who calls for Iran's switch from crude selling to
non-oil exports, including gas, as a remedy for Iran's ailing economy.
ĦĦĦĦIran, among others, is keen to secure the Turkish market as an outlet for
its gas exports to Europe.
ĦĦĦĦRanking second worldwide after Russia in natural gas deposits, Iran's
whopping 20,000 billion cubic meters of natural gas accountsfor 18 percent of
the world's proven reserves, making the country asupplier long favored by
energy-strapped neighbor Turkey and an increasingly bigger consumer of Europe.
ĦĦĦĦIran is looking to the potential purchasing power in the European market
and has stepped up efforts in lobbying for Europe'sfavor on Iranian energy,
following the start of pumping gas to Turkey, a bridge linking the two sides.
ĦĦĦĦIranian Deputy Oil Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mahmoud Astaneh said
on Wednesday Iran is aiming to gain access to lucrative gas market in Europe and
it is imperative for Iran to reach this goal by extending the pipeline via
Turkey.
ĦĦĦĦIn a report on global energy trends, Fatih Birol, a chief economist of the
International Energy Agency (IEA), said recently Iran would become a major gas
supplier to the European Union (EU) in the future, and an existing gas pipeline
between Iran and Turkeycan be extended to Europe.
ĦĦĦĦBirol forecast an great increase in Iran's gas exports to the European
Union, citing the fact that EU's net gas imports would jump from the current 44
percent to 81 percent of the total supply by 2030.
ĦĦĦĦMeanwhile, Iranians view the Iran-Turkey-Greece
pipeline as the most efficient and cost-effective way for the Europeans to
import Iranian gas, compared to the shipment of liquefied natural gas by tankers
or a pipeline through the Commonwealth of Independent States to Europe.
Enditem
ĦĦĦĦby Jiang Xiaofeng ĦĦĦĦ
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