Iran expects to significantly increase the gas exchange with Turkmenistan, which are carried out with the participation of Azerbaijan, Tasnim News reported.

Majid Chegeni, CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said.

"It is expected that the volume of gas imported from Turkmenistan under the gas swap deal inked with SOCAR Company (Azerbaijan) would increase more than 70% in 2023 as compared to a year earlier".

According to the open-ended contract, Iran receives (potentially up to 3-4bn cubic meters of gas per year) from Serakhs, Turkmenistan, beginning in 2022, to deliver its equivalent to Astara, Azerbaijan. This trilateral format allows Iran to solve the problem of supplying its northern provinces, which are far from the national gas reserves.

Turkmenistan suspended direct natural gas supplies to Iran in 2017 because of a $1.8bn debt accumulated from 2007-2008. Tehran recently said it had begun payments.

Tasnim also notes that in the 1401 Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2022 to March 20, 2023), gas exchange with Turkmenistan increased by 358% and 530% respectively in volume and value compared to a year earlier.

"This huge volume of natural is swapped from Turkmenistan to the Republic of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan, he noted," the agency quoted Chegeni as saying.

Azerbaijan previously reported by the State Customs Committee that it purchased 857mn 66.65 thousand cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan (via Iran) for $110.8mn in 2022.

Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat