Petroleum Minister of Iran Javad Owji said Iran has reached agreements with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan to double the amount of natural gas exchanged between the three countries.
Owji made the remarks in talks with reporters on Thursday in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, where he held talks with senior government officials and attended an energy forum, the Iranian Press TV reports.
He added that Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan had almost finalized agreements for doubling the volume of gas stipulated in their swap deal reached last November.
Under the current agreement, Turkmenistan supplies 5-6 million cubic meters per day of natural gas to Iran’s northeastern regions while Iran supplies the same amount to Azerbaijan on its northwestern border.
“Fortunately, everything is ready for the increase (of the volume) in the gas swap agreement and it will be doubled very soon,” Owji told reporters.
The Iranian Petroleum Minister said the increase had been discussed in talks in Tehran, Baku and Ashgabat in recent months.
Owji had indicated in January that the country has the capacity and infrastructure required to increase the volume of gas swapped with Turkmenistan to 40 mcm per day or 10-15 billion cubic meters per year.
Iran’s current government has hailed the natural gas swap cooperation with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan as a major success in the field of energy diplomacy.
Experts say the deal has allowed Iran to deepen its economic ties with the two neighbors.
The swap supplies of Turkmen natural gas to Azerbaijan through Iran has started in January this year.