Türkiye signs gas agreement with Iran calling to lift sanctions on Tehran

Türkiye and Iran have reached a new agreement to increase gas exchange between the two neighboring countries, an official said Sunday. Mohammad Reza Julaei, head of dispatching operations at the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said the two sides agreed to a new deal to boost gas exports from Iran to Türkiye and that the technical aspects of the process will be completed in the next six months, Daily Sabah writes.

"According to the agreement, all technical, operational and executive activities of gas export to Turkey will be carried out in the next six months with the coordination of both parties," Julaei reportedly said.

The deal was unveiled following a meeting between officials of Türkiye’s state energy importer BOTAS and the NIGC.

As part of the deal, Türkiye and Iran will coordinate on operational and repairing plans, renovation, Cathodic protection and coating of the pipelines, and several other matters related to gas export, Julaei said.

The deal came as Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji and Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez met in Türkiye’s capital Ankara on Saturday. The two officials reportedly discussed the need to extend the gas export contract between the two countries, which expires in 2026.

Iran is among Türkiye’s most important gas sources, in addition to Russia and Azerbaijan. The country also imports liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, Nigeria, Norway, Algeria and the United States.

Türkiye’s annual gas consumption rose from 48 bcm in 2020 to a record 60 bcm in 2021 and is expected to reach 62 bcm to 63 bcm this year, according to official figures.

Iran exports around 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Türkiye annually, according to a 25-year deal signed in 2001.

Meanwhile, Türkiye on Friday urged Western nations to lift sanctions on countries including Iran, a move Ankara said would alleviate the global energy crisis. “Remove these sanctions ... if you want the prices to drop, remove the embargoes on the countries that will offer their products to the market,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Friday.

Iran is under U.S. sanctions as talks between Tehran and Washington over reviving a 2015 nuclear deal stall. Iran has the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, after Russia, but lacks the infrastructure to increase exports, which are currently limited to Iraq and Türkiye.