Intl. arbitration on Iran-Turkmenistan gas dispute ruled out for now

TEHRAN, Dec. 31 (MNA) – Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said international arbitration on Iran-Turkmenistan gas dispute has been ruled out for now, adding the two sides need to settle issues through talks. Zangeneh discussed the details of the new Iran- Turkmenistan gas deal with Mehr News on Friday, saying that talks between Iranian National Gas Company (INGC) and Türkmengaz will continue until a final agreement is achieved on the deal. To MNA’s question on the possibility of the gas dispute being taken to international courts, Zangeneh stressed that international arbitration on the issue is not on the table for now, and the two countries need to resolve their issues and disputes through further talks and negotiations. The oil minister expressed hope that the gas dispute would be settled in the shortest time possible, adding that under the deal signed on Friday, Iran will increase its gas exports from Turkmenistan in the next few days. “In the past couple of weeks, Iran’s maximum natural gas exports from Turkmenistan was about 10m cubic meters per day,” Zangeneh explained. “At the moment, Iran’s capacity for gas production has reached over 700m cubic meters per day, and with the completion of the remaining phases of South Pars gas field, the country’s gas production will hit one billion per day.” Zanganeh further stressed that the country is facing no shortage or limitation for its natural gas supply. The remarks came as Turkmenistan claimed Iran has a $2 billion debt over gas import, delayed since the international sanctions were imposed on Iran in 2012. Following the dispute, an Iranian delegation sat at the negotiating table with Turkmen officials which led to the signing of a new gas deal between the two sides.