Speaking to Iran Labor News Agency (ILNA) on 14 October, National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Dispatching Manager, Mohammad Reza Julayi, said that “initial stages” of negotiations between Iran and Turkey have begun to renew an existing gas exports contract expiring by end-2025. Tehran exports gas to Ankara via pipeline and in 2Q22 flows stood at 2.55bcm for the whole quarter. This was some 0.66bcm higher than 1Q22 (MEES, 10 June) and took imported gas volumes to 4.45bcm for the first half of this year, close to the contractual volumes.
Last year, Iran exported 9.75bcm (26mn m3/d) to Turkey solidifying its position as its second largest supplier after Russia. Earlier this year, winter gas supplies to Turkey saw an interruption due to a leak on Iran’s IGAT 9 pipeline at Bazargan (MEES, 21 January) though the stoppage did not last for long and flows resumed the next week (MEES, 28 January). Mr Julayi hopes that the contract will be extended but the toughest challenge for both Iran and Turkey is coming with winter. Last winter, a cold wave hitting Istanbul and other Turkish cities caused massive disruptions and coincided with gas shortages in Iran itself (MEES, 14 January). (CONTINUED - 193 WORDS)