The flow of Iranian natural gas to Turkey that was disrupted 14 day ago (due to a pipeline explosion) has not resumed, director of dispatching at the National Iranian Gas Company said.
“Unlike previous incidents which were dealt within three days at the most, Botas, the importing company, has so far taken no measure to repair the ruptured pipeline over the last two weeks,” Mehdi Jamshidi Dana was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Turkey's natural gas import from Iran was halted for the tenth time on March 31 following an explosion in the pipeline 1.5 km inside Turkey near the border with Iran. Local authorities said the blast hit a section of the pipeline near the Gurbulak Border Crossing in the eastern province of Agri.
Elaborating on Botas’s procrastination, Jamshidi noted that the cold season is over in Turkey and it is not in dire need of gas for heating purposes.
“Moreover, Turkey, like many other countries, has launched an impressive campaign against the deadly virus. This possibly has negatively affected the repair and maintenance operations of the gas pipeline.”
Turkey has so far reported more than 47,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 1,000 plus deaths linked to the respiratory disease, COVID-19, according data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
According to the state-owned NIGC official, Iranian engineers are capable of repairing the pipeline in less than a week. NIGC has informed Turkish officials of its preparedness to help but has received no response.
Turkey buys around a quarter of its annual 40 billion cubic meters of piped natural gas from Iran, making its eastern neighbor the second biggest supplier after Russia.
Surge in Consumption
In related news, Jamshidi said natural gas consumption in the household sector rose by 41% over the last three days as the temperature plummeted in many regions.
"Nationwide consumption increased by 121 million cubic meters (per day) to reach 411 mcm/d on Saturday, up 41% compared to last Thursday when consumption was as low as 290 mcm/d."
The mercury in Tehran and other cities with relatively cold climate, has been bordering near 5 degrees Celsius in the past few days.
National gas production and supply capacity stands at 850 million cubic meters per day and 50 mcm/d is exported to Iraq and Turkey.
An estimated 267 billion cubic meters of natural gas was produced in the last fiscal year that ended in March, he said.
“Of the total production, 215 bcm was used domestically and the balance (52 bcm) was exported to Iraq, Turkey and Armenia and injected into oil wells to maintain pressure in the reservoir.”
He added that spread of the coronavirus has not affected production in the South Pars Gas Company as it follows rules and procedures set by a special committee to handle the critical situation caused by the spread of the communicable disease (COVID-19).
Workers and their families have access to respirators and antiseptic solutions. Moreover, control rooms as well as off-shore and on-shore platforms are monitored regularly.
According to the official, work on refineries and oilfields is proceeding normal, but non-critical sectors have cut staff.
“Production and delivery of natural gas to refineries continues without interruption.”
COVID-19 infections in Iran crossed 72,000 and the death toll rose above 4,500 on Sunday.
