Iran will begin providing natural gas to Turkey on Monday, in line with an August 1996 agreement, said reports.
"The project for the supply of Iranian natural gas will be inaugurated on Monday," the oil ministry said in a statement, cited by the official Iranian news agency, IRNA.
In the first year, Iran will export 3.0 billion cubic meters of gas, the ministry said, adding this volume should gradually increase and reach 10 billion cubic meters by 2007.
In line with a bilateral agreement reached last year, the contract was extended from 22 to 25 years, the statement said, adding the new contract provided for a total supply of 228 billion cubic meters, instead of the initial 192 billion.
Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves with an estimated 20,000 billion cubic meters.
In another development, Iraqi Oil Minister Amer Al Rashid said Sunday the planned gas pipeline between Iraq and Turkey would be linked to the east European and Russian network, according to the Gulf Daily News.
"We decided with Turkey to extend, in a second stage, the pipeline coming from eastern Europe and Russia," Rashid told Iraqi satellite television.
This project is important, as Turkey suffers from a real energy crisis, and it is "within its rights" to diversify its gas supply, added the minister, who has just visited Ankara for a meeting with the joint cooperation commission.
Baghdad and Ankara signed a deal in 1997 for the construction of a gas pipeline running 1,380km at a cost of $2.5 billion, to bring Iraqi natural gas to Turkey.
Other regional countries are looking to get in on the natural gas sector, with Egypt a recent addition to the list of countries with significant reserves – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
