TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Due to the growingly cold weather sweeping entire Iran and the subsequent increase in local consumption, gas exports to Turkey came to a halt, Oil Minister Seyed Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said here on Wednesday.
He said that although his ministry had made sufficient liquefied gas reserves in prediction, it had no option but to stop exports due to the fact that the cold season approached the nation earlier than was expected.
The minister further mentioned that even people residing in the cities close to the delivery stations were faced with shortage of natural gas supplies, but added, “Subsequent to the fall of pressure in our pipeline reserves, we distributed liquid fuel in different cities and the conditions are now back to normal, although not all the natural gas consumption needs have been satiated yet.”
He also called on the public to budget gas consumption in a bid to help his ministry to resume gas exports to Turkey.
Noting his talks with the Turkish energy minister on Tuesday, Hamaneh said that abnormal rainfalls in the regions of Parsian Refinery also doubled his ministry’s problems as downpours caused a delay in the operation of several gas fields. Yet, he expressed the hope that the refinery would resume operation as of next Friday and would compensate for the present gas shortages within the next 10 days.