At present, the national network handles 457 million cubic meters of gas.

Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari has urged Turkmenistan to resume gas exports to Iran. “Turkmenistan should first resume gas supply and then we negotiate. Otherwise we will announce that we do not need Turkmenistan’s gas,“ he had warned earlier, reported PIN on Thursday.
To cope with the domestic shortages, Iran has completely stopped its daily exports of 20 million cubic meters of gas to Turkey, its only major foreign buyer of gas.
The Iranian government has been pinning the blame for domestic shortages on Turkmenistan, which halted its gas exports to Iran on December 30 for ’technical reasons’.
Turkmenistan normally exports between 20 and 23 million cubic meters of gas daily to Iran--amounting to around 5 percent of the Islamic Republic’s total consumption.
Nozari said the contract on imports of gas from Turkmenistan had some weak points which surfaced when Iran faced tough conditions.
He had already assured that Iran was not exporting gas currently and the full amount was used at home.
He told reporters 13.2 million subscribers were using gas.
“At present, 457 million cubic meters of gas are injected into the national network,“ said Nozari, adding round the clock efforts helped solve the major part of problems and only some parts of the country were now experiencing low pressure.
Meanwhile, Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi GŸler said Thursday that he expects Iran to resume gas exports by next week, ending a two-week cut forced by cold weather and a consumption crunch in Turkey’s eastern neighbor.
“Our friends (Iran) are working on this issue. The pressure (in the pipeline) increases from time to time and then decreases,“ GŸler told NTV news channel. “But I believe gas the will flow again next week.“
In addition to the cold snap in Iran that peaked domestic consumption, Turkmenistan also stopped sending gas to the Islamic republic.
Turkey in turn was forced to stop its gas exports to western neighbor Greece and increase its imports from Russia, AFP reported.
GŸler said Ankara and Tehran were planning to build a second pipeline to bypass Iranian cities, which are also supplied by the existing conduit between the two countries. “But this is a long-term idea,“ GŸler said.
Turkey has been buying gas from Iran via a pipeline from the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz to Ankara since December 2001.

A group of gas-exporting states led by Iran and Russia is moving towards creating a formal body similar to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a Russian daily said on Thursday.
The charter for the proposed ’gas OPEC’ would be presented for approval at the seventh annual meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow in June, the Kommersant broadsheet said, citing unnamed Russian government sources.
“The main issue being discussed by the Gas Exporting Countries Forum is the transformation of an informal club that has no centralized organization... into a serious international organization of gas suppliers,“ the paper said, according to AFP.
The paper noted that a draft charter of the organization, almost identical to that of OPEC, was drawn up by Iran last year.
Talk of a ’gas OPEC’ aimed at coordinating issues such as pricing has contributed to worries among Western countries that they are threatened by over-dependence on gas supplying states.
Quoting experts, Kommersant predicted the body was likely to be created, but that strong opposition by the European Union and the United States could limit its influence.
Russia has the world’s largest proven gas reserves, while Iran has the second-largest.

Energy Minister Parviz Fattah

Funds allocated for development projects in the water sector in the March 2008 budget bill have increased by 6,000 billion rials compared to the figure in the preceding year, said Energy Minister Parviz Fattah.
Speaking in a ceremony to inaugurate the second phase of Baba Sheikhali Water Treatment Plant in Lenjan, Isfahan province, he said that the bill envisaged the allocation of 26,000 billion rials for water projects, IRNA reported.
The minister underlined the need for optimal utilization of water resources which are only one-third of the global average.
Fattah noted that presently underground water is being exploited from the depth of 300 to 400 meters in some parts of the country.
He expressed satisfaction about the implementation of Baba Sheikhali Project which was commissioned on schedule.
The plant has the capacity to supply water for five million people.
Fattah said earlier that global policymakers, such as the United Nations, are seeking ways to cope with the challenges to water management.
He pointed out that 2005-2015 has been designated ’International Water Decade’ which indicates the global community’s anxieties about the challenges facing the water sector.
The minister pointed out that population growth, ever-increasing exploitation of natural resources and environmental pollution have made the water dilemma one of the major challenges of the current century.

IndiaÕs Petroleum Minister Murli Deora

India is optimistic about the proposed 2,775-km Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline and is deeply committed to the multibillion-dollar project, Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said in New Delhi on Thursday.
“Iranian ambassador to India spoke to me Wednesday and they are very keen that the project takes shape as it is in the interest of all (the) three countries,“ Deora told PTI.
Asked whether he would be visiting Tehran, Deora said he had received an invitation and indicated that he might make a trip at an appropriate time.
While admitting that India could not participate in a couple of meetings because of local situation, Deora said, “India is deeply committed to the pipeline project. We hope it will go through. Iran is very keen we should go ahead.“
Deora replied in the negative when asked whether the US was pressurizing India not to go ahead with the project. “I have not seen any pressure and we have to take care of our energy needs,“ he said.
Though New Delhi and Islamabad have reached an understanding on the transportation tariff payable to Pakistan for transporting gas through the 1,035-km pipeline segment in that country, the two nations have not yet arrived at any agreement on payment of a separate transit fee to Pakistan for using its territory.
The pipeline is slated to be laid in the three nations separately.
Iran would lay a 1,100-km pipeline from the Persian Gulf to the Iran- Pakistan border, while Pakistan would lay 1,035 km from its border with Iran to the Indian border. India would then pipe the gas to consumption centers.
The total cost of the project was estimated at over $7 billion in 2006.

Head of Khuzestan Commerce Department announced that a number of provincial Iranian and Iraqi officials will meet in the southeastern province on February 6.
Mohammad-Hossein Cheraghi told IRNA on Wednesday that the gathering of heads of provincial commerce departments will be held with an aim of expanding trade and economic exchanges between Iranian provinces and Iraq.
Cheraghi further said that the two countries prioritize expansion of trade ties.
Deputy heads of foreign trade organizations from the provinces of West Azarbaijan, Ilam, Kurdestan, Kermanshah, East Azarbaijan and Khuzestan will take part in the session, he noted.
He added that heads of chambers of commerce from the Iraqi provinces of Basra, Ammarah, Hilla, Naseria, Karbala and Baghdad, accompanied by Iraqi ambassador to Iran and the Iranian commerce attachŽ in Iraq, will also attend.
Earlier, Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi-Qomi said that Tehran and Baghdad have signed several documents so far for expanding bilateral cooperation.
Speaking to IRNA, Kazemi-Qomi said, “The two sides have signed agreements for cooperation in the fields of oil, electricity, transportation, road building and transit of goods.“
The Iranian envoy said the two countries have had significant cooperation in the oil and power sectors, noting that Iran exports some 140MW of electricity to Iraq from the Iranian border town of Sar-e Pol-e Zahab to the Iraqi city of Baqouba.

The first exposition of Iranian goods in Syria was inaugurated on Thursday in a ceremony attended by the commerce ministers of the two countries.
The event is sponsored by the Iran-Syria Friendship Association and the Iranian Embassy in Syria, IRNA reported.
Masoud Mir Kazemi, Iran’s commerce minister, arrived in Damascus Tuesday night.
Some 160 Iranian companies are participating in the exposition at the Syrian International Exhibition Grounds. They are showcasing their latest products in oil, gas, petrochemical, health-related goods, construction materials, food items and consumer goods.
The value of trade between the two countries reached $200 million in 2007, of which $180 million pertained to Iranian exports.
Iranian companies have completed or are implementing one billion dollars worth of technical or engineering projects in Syria, including auto manufacturing, a cement factory and grain silo construction.
Mir Kazemi said Iran and Syria, as two influential countries in the region, have great economic and trade capacities.

Greek Gas Supply and Transmission Company (DEPA) has announced its keen interest in expanding ties with Iran in energy sector.
Importing gas for domestic consumption as well as transferring it to European markets is very crucial for Greece, stated a top DEPA manager in a meeting with Iranian charge d’affairŽs in Athens, Mahmoud Fazeli, on Wednesday, Press TV wrote.
Iran’s huge gas resources has prompted the company to collaborate with the country, he added.
The Greek gas market will experience a growth and therefore DEPA will study the feasibility of working with all gas exporters as the country aims to become a route for transferring gas to European markets, the manger noted.
The official said that the company will look into the possibility of a four-way meeting with Italy’s Edison, Turkey’s Butash and the National Iranian Gas Export Company, with a positive outlook.
Earlier, Greek Ambassador to Tehran Dr. Mercourios B. Karafotias said, “During January-September 2007, Greek imports from Iran amounted to 1.5 billion euros, which indicates that we are importing a lot from the Islamic Republic. The main imports include crude oil, dried fruits (mainly nuts), iron, steel, carpet, crystal and other commodities. Unfortunately, Greek exports to Iran are rather limited and, during the same period, stood at around $7 million, which is insignificant.“

Iran’s Trade Development Organization has announced that an exclusive exhibition of Iranian products will be held in Sri Lanka from Saturday.
The fair will feature products of over 60 Iranian engineering companies, IRNA reported. “Iran’s technical and engineering services in constructing dams, developing hydroelectric power plants, pressurized irrigation systems, building roads, bridges, and housing have reached international standards,“ said Parviz Rezaie, the organization’s manager for Asia-Pacific trade offices.
“So Sri Lanka would like to see Iranian experts and engineers participating in national projects,“ he added.
Rezaie said the preferential trade agreements that Iran and Sri Lanka have signed for over 300 products will become operational by March. Trade between Tehran and Colombo currently stands at above $750 million.
Earlier, managing director of Chabahar Free Trade Zone said that Sri Lanka is to increase its economic presence in Chabahar.
“Sri Lanka’s Finco Group has agreed to build a textile mill in Chabahar that will help create jobs in the region,“ Mohammad Taher Baqerzadeh told IRNA.
He further said that talks had been held with Sri Lankan officials to build a tea packaging facility in Chabahar.