Iran, Turkey Plan to Set up Gas Company

Iran and Turkey are planning to set up a gas pipeline venture company to transport gas from the Islamic Republic to its northwestern neighbor.

The two countries signed an agreement last month to deliver 35 billion cubic meters of gas a year to Europe to bolster greater energy cooperation.
Iran, which sits on the world’s second largest reserves of both oil and gas, is facing US sanctions over its civilian nuclear program.

Iranian officials have dismissed US sanctions as inefficient, saying that they are finding Asian partners instead. Several Chinese and other Asian firms are negotiating or signing up to oil and gas deals.

In a last case, Iran signed gas deals worth $14 billion with Malaysia’s SKS Group in early December, including a contract to build an LNG plant.

Following US pressures on companies to stop business with Tehran, many western companies decided to do a balancing act. They tried to maintain their presence in Iran, which is rich in oil and gas, but not getting into big deals that could endanger their interests in the US.

Yet, after oil giants in the West witnessed that their absence in big deals has provided Chinese, Indian and Russian companies with excellent opportunities to sign up to an increasing number of energy projects and earn billions of dollars, many western firms are increasingly showing interest to invest or expand work in Iran.

Fars News