Iran's Minister of Oil, Javad Owji, discussed "collaboration in the oil and gas sector of the two countries, with new opportunities opening up for its expansion, according to common opinion" during a meeting with the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, in Ashgabat, Eurasia Today reports.
Owji visited Turkmenistan and held talks with his Turkmen counterpart as well, "Altyn Asyr" reported.
Berdimuhamedov expressed Ashgabat's readiness to consider all initiatives and proposals from Iranian partners.
According to the publication, one of the reasons for the negotiations was the suspension of swap deliveries of Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan through Iranian territory.
At present, Iran has a significant gas pipeline network and, under the conditions of U.S. sanctions, is interested in the transit and swap of energy resources.
Additionally, Tehran is exploring gas swap projects with Russia to expand gas supplies to Central Asia, the South Caucasus, South Asia, and the Middle East.
In early 2024, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan faced significant difficulties in agreements on gas swap deals involving Iran. The challenge arose in determining a fair price for gas exports.
Ashgabat considers the price of $135-140 per thousand cubic meters to be very low, as reported by IA "Turkmen.news."
According to the Iranian news agency "Mehr," the suspension of deliveries is related to certain "problems" that Baku is discussing with Ashgabat.
At the same time, Turkmenistan is grappling with a shortage of available volumes of methane due to increased domestic consumption, affecting the ability to fulfill international contracts.
Ashgabat remains the largest supplier of pipeline gas to China today.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
January 19, 2024