Iran No Longer Needs Turkmenistan’s Natural Gas

As of next week, the Islamic Republic will no longer need to import natural gas from Turkmenistan, Iranian lawmaker Assadollah Qarehkhani said.

According to a Farsi report by ICANA, a new pipeline is to become operational in northern Iran in the coming days, which would obviate the need for imports of natural gas from Turkmenistan.

The 175-km pipeline, which measures up to environmental standards, will meet the need for natural gas in north of the country, said Qarehkhani, who sits on the Parliament’s Energy Commission.

With the pipeline coming on line, he said, there will be no drop in the pressure of the supplied natural gas anymore.

The MP then touched upon a lawsuit filed by Iran with the International Court of Justice against Turkmenistan for its breach of commitment, and said the country will demand damages from Ashgabat.

“Turkmenistan has pulled out of the agreement unilaterally without any justifiable excuse and has illogical demands from Iran,” he said.

In its lawsuit, he added, Iran has also called on the court to get Turkmenistan to reduce the price of its natural gas exports.

“Turkmenistan put Iran in a bind by increasing the price of natural gas in 2007 when Iran had no other alternative for the gas imports; hence, Turkmenistan should pay fines for its breach of obligations,” said the legislator.

“If Iran’s demands related to natural gas imports from Turkmenistan are met and the two countries reach a compromise on natural gas imports, we can import natural gas from Turkmenistan, and, instead, export Iran’s natural gas to western neighbours via swap deals,” said the lawmaker.