Iran Min. Upbeat With Gas Deal Talks With Turkey

Tehran, Sept 2, IRNA – Minister of Oil, Rostam Ghasemi, said on Saturday that negotiations with Turkish government on Iranian gas exports were positive. Commenting on his talks with Turkish Minister of Development Cevdet Yilmaz, he said that Iran would study growth in gas exports to Turkey and export of Iranian gas to Europe via Turkish territory. He said Turkish private companies remain customers to Iranian crude oil. “Turkey is customer to Iranian oil as in the past.” Yilmaz said Iranian delegation will travel to Ankara to hold detailed talks with Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz. Iranian natural gas is of crucial importance to Turkey, as it constitutes one-third of Turkish natural gas imports. Turkey uses a significant portion of Iranian natural gas to generate electricity. Iran exports an average amount of more than 30 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey a day, indicating growth of 11 million cubic meters compared to 2010./end