BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Gas swap supplies,
energy infrastructure and petrochemical cooperation could drive a
new stage of economic interaction between Iran, Turkmenistan and
Central Asia, Iranian Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Mehdi
Heydari said.
This was reflected in a press release published by the press
service of the Turkmen government yesterday, following Heydari’s
remarks at the Turkmenistan Investment Forum TIF 2026, held in
Ashgabat.
During his speech, Heydari identified energy as priority, that
could become a driver of a new stage of economic cooperation.
“There are broad opportunities to utilize the potential of gas
swap supplies, develop infrastructure for the transportation,
storage and processing of energy resources, as well as deepen
cooperation in the petrochemical industry,” Heydari said.
Notably, Iran has already used its gas infrastructure to
facilitate the delivery of Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan under a
trilateral swap arrangement. Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan
signed the agreement in November 2021, with implementation
beginning in January 2022. The arrangement provided for up to 1.5-2
billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas per year to be supplied to
Azerbaijan through Iran.
The mechanism was subsequently expanded, with Azerbaijan
receiving about 1.8 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas through
Iran in 2023. The deliveries were suspended in January 2024 amid
several technical issues.
In June 2026, Iranian Deputy Petroleum Minister and Managing
Director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Saeid Tavakkoli
told Trend in an exclusive
interview that Iran was
ready to transport gas from Turkmenistan or other neighboring
countries to third markets through its territory. He also said the
previous short-term agreement on the swap of Turkmen gas to
Azerbaijan had been successfully implemented, although work under
the agreement was currently suspended.
