Turkey Cuts Gas Import From Iran

EghtesadOnline: Turkey’s natural gas import from Iran declined by 31% in 2020 compared to a year ago. According to Barq News, the latest report issued by Ankara-based Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) indicates that the National Iranian Gas Company’s export to the neighbor dropped to 5.3 billion cubic meters in 2020.

News ID: ۷۸۶۱۹۳

06 March 2021

Although daily supplies to Turkey should be at least 25 million cubic meters on average, the figure was as low as 15 mcm/d last year. NIGC's total gas export to Turkey in 2017 was 6 bcm.

On the other hand, Turkey’s gas imports from Azerbaijan and Russia increased by 21% (to reach 11.5 bcm) and 7% (to reach 16 bcm) in 2020, respectively.

EMRA also said that Turkey bought no crude oil from Iran last year.

The neighboring state purchased close to 6 million tons and 3 million tons of crude from Iran in 2017 and 2018 respectively. According to EMRA, Turkey stopped buying Iran’s electricity in 2018.

Turkey is one of Iran’s major trading partners in the region, which has come under pressure from Washington to stop working with Tehran under US economic sanctions against Iran.

According to the latest data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute, the neighboring country's trade with Iran has suffered a huge decline as the two countries have been hit hard by the coronavirus plague since early 2020.

US sanctions and the coronavirus have dramatically shifted a commercial relationship between Turkey and Iran that was underpinned by visa-free travel and centuries of trade and cultural ties.

The land crossing between the two countries has long been vital for Iran’s efforts to access foreign goods, particularly under sanctions that cut its economy off from much of the world. For decades, Turkey bought Iranian oil and gas, and Iran sent tourists and imported Turkish goods.