Details of the new gas swap agreement between Iran and Turkmenistan

According to the Energy Press report, Mahmoud Khaqani, regarding the gas swap between Turkmenistan and Iraq via Iran, said: The issue of gas transit was actually a policy that was defined as strategic diplomacy during the presidency of the late Hashemi Rafsanjani in 1377. During the time of Hashemi and Niyazov, the president of Turkmenistan at the time, the relations between the two countries were very good and friendly, Turkmenistan is landlocked and could not export its gas anywhere except Russia, so at that time, negotiations with Turkmenistan began, which opened a route for Turkmenistan’s gas. To open for export to other markets.

He added: In this regard, a contract was signed in 1374 for the construction of a gas pipeline from Karpeche to Kurdkoy, at which time Iran invested 200 million dollars, and Turkmenistan gas was imported into Iran and sent to the Neka power plant, and on the way to many border areas of Iran and Turkmenistan was also supplied with gas.

This expert in the field of energy stated: New energy diplomacy was defined in the 7th and 8th governments, and within that framework, the strategic diplomacy of the Crescent Agreement was also established. Plans for the exchange of gas with gas, oil with oil, and gas with electricity were defined in the 7th and 8th governments. Based on this, we used to export gas and receive electricity to Armenia and Azerbaijan. In connection with Turkmenistan, it was also agreed that we would consume gas from Turkmenistan and send gas to Turkey in return. be transferred and we don’t have to transfer the gas from the south to the north and northeast regions at a high cost, that is, to give the gas to the customer in Turkmenistan for the amounts we received from the Turkmens.

He said: Now, one of the reasons that made Iraq enter into a deal with Turkmenistan to receive gas is that we are facing dissatisfaction, the necessary and new investment in Iran’s gas resources has not been made. While foreign companies have invested in Turkmenistan’s gas resources, brought new technology and increased gas production, including the fact that the Chinese have gas production in Turkmenistan and are going to implement a project through the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, in fact China, with the agreement of the United States and the participation of the Russians, sought to prevent Iran’s path from being implemented.

Khaqani stated: In the past, we have also sought to establish a gas transit route in the country, but this project was opposed by Mirkazmi, the then oil minister in the 9th government, so that he played an important role in stopping the exchange of oil and gas in the country, and now Turkmenistan has again proposed the implementation of the project. He brought up the transit of gas, which was agreed upon during the time of Hashemi and Khatami, and insists on exporting gas through this route, in any case, considering the lack of gas in Iran and the high cost of transporting gas from the south to the north. It is cost-effective for Iran to receive Turkmenistan’s gas and reduce a percentage of it as a transit fee and to send Iran’s gas to Iraq from the pipeline it has to Turkmenistan.