Iran hit by gas cuts after Turkmenistan halts supplies

Iran hit by gas cuts after Turkmenistan halts supplies

	Published : Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:23 By : Agencies Print this Story

TEHRAN (Thomson Financial) - A dozen Iranian cities suffered gas cuts today amid freezing winter temperatures after Turkmenistan completely halted the export of gas to its southern neighbour, energy officials said.

'Turkmenistan reduced its exports to Iran by half two days ago but since Sunday afternoon, the exports have completely ceased,' said a spokesman for the National Iranian Gas Company, quoted by the state broadcaster.

Turkmenistan normally exports between 20 to 23 mln cubic metres (706 to 812 mln cubic feet) of gas daily to Iran, the spokesman said.

Following the halt in supplies from Turkmenistan some 11 cities in Iran's northern provinces were suffering from gas cuts, according to the state broadcaster's website.

The nature of the cuts was not specified but provincial capitals Gorgan, Sari and Semnan were among the cities affected as well as other cities in the Ardebil, Gilan, Golestan, East Azarbaijan and West Azarbaijan provinces, it said.

Northern and northwestern Iran are enduring a spate of cold weather, with snow as well as nighttime temperatures of -10 degrees Celsius (14 Fahrenheit).

Despite boasting the world's second-largest gas reserves after Russia, Iran frequently suffers from winter gas shortages due to under-development of gas fields and massive domestic consumption.

It has been seeking to sign major international deals to develop its gas fields in order to create a thriving gas export industry and satisfy the needs of its 70 mln population.

The Islamic republic supplies several bln cubic metres of gas to Turkey annually but last winter was forced to temporarily cut supplies owing to a consumption crunch at home.

State television said Turkmenistan officials had said in a letter to Iran that the cut was due to 'technical problems'. But an Iranian official indicated that higher price demands from Turkmenistan could be a factor.

'The halt of gas supplies from Turkmenistan could be explained by a rise in prices on world markets,' said Azizollah Remezani, who heads the national gas company's supply department.

The gas-rich former Soviet state supplies around five pct of Iran's total gas consumption, Iranian officials said.

'We can expect a rise in consumption of 20-25 mln cubic metres daily due to the cold,' said Ramezani, warning of further problems in the days to come due to a 14 pct rise in consumption from the previous year.

Officials have urged people to improve their notoriously lax energy efficiency to combat the shortages.

Iran last week signed a 6 bln usd deal with Malaysia to develop two offshore gas fields, touting the planned investment as the biggest ever in the country.

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