Managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC), Hossein Bidarmaghz has rejected Western media allegations that the Swiss EGL Company has imposed a ban on the purchase of natural gas from Iran.
He went on to say that, technical issues are the main reason behind the delayed sales of Iran’s natural gas to this European company, Mehr News Agency reported.
He pointed out that, Iran and Swiss company were facing no contractual or legal problems for starting gas exports.
It’s worth mentioning that, the Swiss gas contract, one of Iran’s biggest gas deals ever, was signed by EGL and NIGEC in March 2008 in the presence of high-ranking foreign affairs and energy officials from both countries.
Obtaining Turkey’s permit to transit Iran’s gas to Europe through its soil has been so far the most important reason behind the delayed implementation of the contract.
He expressed Iran’s readiness to increase its natural gas export upon the Turkey’s request.
Referring to Turkey’s request for increasing the volume of gas import, NIGC’s managing director Javad Owji said Iran has a capacity to export an average of 36-40 million cubic meters of natural gas per day to Turkey.
He declared that Iran’s gas export to Turkey has increased by 12 percent from March adding Iran has exported more than 24 million cubic meters of gas per day on average since the beginning of the current year.
“ Based on a mutual contract, Iran must deliver a daily average of 30 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey “, he said.
The gas contract was signed 1996 between the two countries over annual export of 10 billion cubic meters for 25 years.
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Source: NIGC, November 2, 2011