Turkey to face gas shortage if Iranian pipeline delayed

Turkey, heavily dependent on foreign energy supplies, has faced shortage risks posed mainly by Iran's decision to cut the flow of natural gas to Turkey in previous years. Turkish and Iranian officials agreed to build an additional pipeline to secure the flow in order to avoid a similar situation.

 

Any halt to the flow of gas is also a matter of concern for the production of electricity, as more than 50 percent of the country's electricity is produced by natural gas.

 

Gas flow problems derive from the limited capacity of the existing pipeline, where gas loses compression while passing through Iranian cities on the Tabriz-Urumiyah line.

 

The amount of gas Turkey received from Iran fell to a level of 4-5 million cubic meters per day, from the expected 18-29 million cubic meters, forcing Turkey to compensate the loss by increasing Russian gas imports.

 

Turkey and Iran had resumed work to construct the additional 400 kilometer pipeline to by-pass the problematic Tabriz-Urumiyah line, however the project has encountered delays and BOTAS has urged the Iran to speed up its works.

 

IRAN INCREASES ITS PRODUCTION

Iran continues its efforts to improve the transfer of gas to Turkey and has decided to increase investments in its own natural gas fields, Referans said.

 

Iran aims to reach European markets through its Southern Pars pipeline project. The $8 billion pipeline project, still under construction, will cross from the Persian Gulf to Turkey.

 

The 1,860 kilometers pipeline is being planned to be linked to the EU-backed Nabucco project by the year 2014, and is estimated to eventually carry 110 million cubic meters of gas daily.

 

The EU is seeking to reduce its heavy dependence on Russian gas through the Nabucco project, designed to transfer Azerbaijan's natural gas to Eastern Europe via Turkey. Â