Zangeneh: The Ministry of Oil Will Not Intervene in the Gas Import Issue from Turkmenistan

Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Iran's Minister of Oil, emphasized on Thursday that the Ministry of Oil will not intervene in the issue of gas imports from Turkmenistan, and this problem, described as a "commercial dispute," should be resolved by the two companies, Turkmen Gas and the National Iranian Gas Company. In an interview with the Mizan news agency on January 6, Zangeneh stated that the dispute over gas imports from Turkmenistan is a "commercial disagreement" between Turkmen Gas and the National Iranian Gas Company and should be resolved between the two parties. He added, "We should not link this issue to political discussions to avoid harming the relations between the two countries." Zangeneh specified that "these two companies must resolve their issues among themselves, and the solutions are outlined in their contracts, and they should utilize those methods rather than seeking other ways to resolve their problems." The National Iranian Gas Company announced earlier this week that Turkmenistan had halted gas exports to Iran due to what it described as a dispute over gas debts. According to a contract signed 20 years ago between the National Iranian Gas Company and Turkmen Gas, part of the gas consumed in the northern regions of the country is supplied through imports from Turkmenistan. Last year, Iran received about 9 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan, which was double the amount received from its northern neighbor in 2014. Following the announcement of the gas import cut from Turkmenistan, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, emphasized that "Tehran does not want to politicize this issue," a point also stressed by the Minister of Oil. According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, "This discussion is more of a technical and financial issue between the gas companies of Iran and Turkmenistan, and with the wisdom that will be employed, we will reach a mutually agreeable solution with our neighboring country." However, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry issued a statement regarding the gas supply cut to Iran. While Turkmenistan cited Iran's debt as the reason for the gas cut, Iranian officials have accused Turkmenistan of "breach of trust." In this context, the National Iranian Gas Company stated on Wednesday that it has placed the process of referring disputes to international arbitration on its agenda, emphasizing the "unanswered" request for negotiations with the Turkmen side. According to the National Iranian Gas Company's statement, it has paid its current claims and part of its previous debt to Turkmen Gas, which has exceeded $5.4 billion, through various means over the years. The statement indicated that the debt of the National Iranian Gas Company to Turkmen Gas is related to the sanctions period, during which direct payments were not possible due to international sanctions. Previously, in the winter of 2007, the Turkmen side had similarly cut gas exports to Iran, demanding an increase in the contract amount, and the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agreed to a ninefold increase in gas prices. Perhaps for this reason, Gholamreza Ansari, former Iranian ambassador to Turkmenistan and current member of Tehran City Council, accused Ahmadinejad's government of negligence in negotiations with the Turkmen side in an article in the electronic newspaper "Omid Iranians." According to Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, gas production in Iran has currently increased by 50% over the past three years, reaching 720 million cubic meters per day. Zangeneh also responded to the question of whether gas imports from Turkmenistan would resume after resolving the issue, stating, "This matter pertains to the companies, and we will not intervene in it."