Iran's natural gas export to Turkey reached 1.8 billion cubic meters, which marks an 11% rise since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started March 20) compared with the corresponding period of last year, the head of National Iranian Gas Company's Dispatching Department said on Monday.
“On average, 21.5 million cubic meters of gas have been transferred to Turkey on a daily basis since March 20,” Abdolreza Ebrahimian was quoted as saying by Shana.
Pointing to natural gas extraction from reservoirs, Ebrahimian said the volume of gas extraction stood at 551 mcm, which shows a 5% rise compared to last year's corresponding period.
According to the official, plans have been made to meet 93% of power plants' fuel requirements through natural gas by the yearend, which figure stood at 83% last year.
"During the last 86 days, 95% of power plants' fuel have been provided with natural gas."
On natural gas consumption in household, industrial and business sectors, he added that in the same period, 196 mcm of natural gas have been consumed by the three sectors, indicating a 9% growth compared to that of the previous year.
Asked about the International Court of Arbitration's verdict over the gas dispute between Iran and Turkey, Alireza Kameli, managing director of National Iranian Gas Export Company, said, "ICA's final decision will definitely overshadow NIGEC's future negotiations with not only Turkey but also all potential customers interested in purchasing natural gas from Iran."
ICA will determine the exact amount of compensation Iran has to pay to Turkey, as the two sides failed to agree on the amount of compensation, which will be 13-16% of the exported gas price since 2011, approximately $1 billion.
Reportedly, negotiations between Iranian and Turkish experts over determining the exact amount of money Iran has to pay to Turkey as compensation for selling natural gas to this state at a rate higher than the regional market rate came to no fruition because of which ICA will settle the issue.
