Tehran, Ashgabat strike new gas deals

TEHRAN,Dec.20(MNA) - Iran and Turkmenistan have inked new deals, according to which Iran will resume gas imports from Turkmenistan in exchange for supplying oil and gas industry equipment to its northeastern neighbor. National Iranian Gas Company’s Managing Director Javad Owji signed the deals with Turkmen officials in Ashgabat. Iran halted importing natural gas from Turkmenistan in November due to a dispute over purchasing terms. Based on existing contract between the two countries, Turkmenistan exports 27 to 30 million cubic meters per day of gas to Iran. Owji said that in the last six months, Iran imported 4-5 million cubic meters of gas per day from Turkmenistan on the average, "and given the outcome of negotiations between the two countries it is expected the volume of supplies will increase up to 40 million cubic meters of gas after two or three weeks".