Turkmenistan to Increase Gas Exports to Iran

Turkmenistan will increase its gas exports to Iran to 40 million cubic meters of gas per day by the end of the year, the Iranian Oil Ministry reported on its website. Currently, Ashgabat supplies Iran with 32 million cubic meters of gas per day. 

"Imports of gas from Turkmenistan...will reach 40 million cubic meters per day when a second line on the pipeline opens in the autumn", Iranian National Gas Company Managing Director Javad Owji said. Turkmenistan sells Iran about eight billion cubic meters of gas, even though Iran has the second largest gas reserves in the world after Russia, Reuters reports. 

Sanctions imposed by the United States and the UN have affected Iran's access to international credit and a lack of refining capacity forces the country to import gas during peak seasons.