Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that state-owned Turkmengas suspended exports of natural gas to Iran on Jan. 1 in a payments dispute.
National Iranian Gas Co. on Jan. 1 had complained that Turkmengas demanded “immediate payment of arrears,” which it called a “sheer violation” of the countries’ agreement.
A statement from the Turkmen foreign ministry said NIGC since 2013 has not shown “appropriate efforts to pay off the debts for natural Turkmen gas which has been previously supplied to the Islamic Republic.”
It cited “a vast debt” without specifying amounts and said payment delays hampered Turkmengas operations related to the exports.
NIGC responded on Jan. 4 with a statement saying it had paid “all its dues and a part of the debt…in different ways amounting to over $4.5 billion.”
The unpaid debt, it said, relates to international sanctions imposed in 2012, which block direct payments. NIGC said it has paid Turkmenistan “huge amounts” in goods and services during the sanctions period.
Since 1997, Turkmenistan has exported as much as 10 billion cu m/year of gas to Iran by pipeline. Exports totaled 7.2 billion cu m in 2015, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.
