Page 19 - GLNG Week 23

GLNG MIDDLE EAST GLNG

Iran expects gas flows to Turkey

to resume by mid-July

PIPELINES & IRAN anticipates that its gas exports to Turkey comments on the matter.
TRANSPORT – stalled since March 31 after a cross-border Turkey’s energy ministry and gas importer
pipeline was put of service by an explosion – will Botas were yet to give a status update on progress
resume by mid-July at the latest, a senior Iranian in repairing the pipeline.
gas official was quoted as saying on June 7 by Turkey imported 7.7bn cubic metres (bcm) of
the Iranian oil ministry-controlled Shana news gas from Iran in 2019, equivalent to around 17%
agency. of its total gas imports. The long-term contract
Mehdi Jamshidi-Dana, former director for allows Ankara to buy up to 9.6bcm/year. Turkey has been
dispatching at state-owned National Iranian Jamshidi-Dana warned that Iran could take
Gas Company (NIGC) and presently interim the issue of the unresolved repairs and claimed greatly stepping
caretaker of its Gas Transfer Company, added force majeure to international arbitration if it
that NIGC has rejected a claim from Turkey that was not dealt with satisfactorily. However, he up imports of LNG
the suspension of supplies represented a force also emphasised that a “friendly relationship
majeure event, meaning Ankara could avoid and professional acting by Turkey” would in recent months,
paying for gas not taken under the two sides’ mean Tehran would not take the matter that including from
25-year take-or-pay contract that came into far.
effect 19 years ago. Talks for an extension of the contract, mean- the US.
“We predict that the repair of the Iran-Turkey while, were under way, but have been slowed
gas pipeline will end in the [Persian] month of by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sit-
Tir [June 21-July 21] and gas flow will resume,” uation, according to Jamshidi-Dana’s reported
he was also cited as saying. comments.
Repairs to the pipeline had still not been com- Turkey has been greatly stepping up imports
pleted despite work following such incidents of LNG in recent months, including from the US,
usually taking around three to seven days, Jam- and the word on the market is that the LNG has
shidi-Dana said recently. been secured at prices substantially below the gas
“Iran has announced in writing that it does contract price with Iran.
not accept this is a force majeure event. In several According to data from S&P Global Platts
correspondences, we said Iran is ready to repair Analytics, Turkey has taken 24 cargoes of US
this pipeline within eight days but the Turkish LNG already in 2020, compared with 13 for the
side didn’t welcome that,” he said in his latest whole of 2019 and just four in 2018.™

Week 23 12•June•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P19