Page 45 - IRANRptFeb22

Iran begins natural gas swap with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan
Iran’s Oil Ministry has announced that the country has begun a natural gas swap with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan as part of a trilateral agreement recently signed by the three neighbours, IFP reported on January 2.
Based on the agreement, Iran’s northern provinces will receive gas from Turkmenistan in exchange for gas transported to Azerbaijan from the country’s west. Iran is expected to receive 1.5 to 2bn cubic metres from Ashgabat while it is expected to transfer the same amount to Azerbaijan. The deal m may cause some disquiet in Washington. The US recently reminded countries not to restart trade with Iran whilst sanctions remain in place.
After the contract was signed in November, the Iranian oil ministry described it as a “step forward in energy ties” among the neighbours.
Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji added that the agreement helps Iran to ensure the stability of its natural gas network and supply energy to provinces including Khorasan Razavi, Golestan and Semnan where Iran's distribution network for its own gas is thin.
"Turkmenistan will sell 5-6 million cubic metres of gas per day to Azerbaijan under the trilateral agreement," Iranian state TV quoted Owji as saying in November.
Iran has the world's second largest reserves of natural gas after Russia, but most of its major gas fields are located in its south, thus Iran has traditionally brought in gas from neighbouring Turkmenistan for distribution to its northern provinces. It is especially required during the winter.
“The signed document is very important. This is a historical document, it shows how deep the Azerbaijani-Iranian ties are. Azerbaijan will receive Turkmen gas via Iran. This is good grounds for trilateral cooperation. The signed document is important from the point of view of economic and energy security,” Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said of the arrangement.
9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Iranian car production up 4.1% in first 10 Persian calendar months
Iran’s auto production rose by 4.1% y/y in the first 10 months of the current Persian calendar year (started March 21), data published by Codal.ir showed on January 31.
The gain comes despite US sanctions continuing to severely hamper the sourcing of components by Iran’s automakers. Shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the past two years have also slowed production as well as sales.
Iran's largest auto producer Iran Khodro Corporation (IKCO), second largest SAIPA and Pars Khodro together produced 760,527 vehicles in the 10 months, up from 730,477 in the same period of the previous Persian calendar year, according to data published by the Securities and Exchange Organisation. IKCO accounted for 381,321, down 1.74% y/y and SAIPA produced 279,055, up 6.6% y/y.
Iran’s industry ministry forecasts Iranian auto production will top 1.2mn in the Persian calendar year to late March 2022. If achieved, the figure would represent a year on year gain of nearly 22%.
Iran’s automotive industry is still contending with major US sanctions brought in by the former Trump administration.
45 IRAN Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com