TEHRAN (AFP)--Turkey has yet to receive fresh supplies of Iranian gas, which Turkish officials had hoped would be resumed Monday, as Iran confronts a bitter cold snap, the semiofficial Anatolie news agency reported.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last Thursday Iran was expected to resume natural gas exports to Turkey by the beginning of this week, ending a days-long cut forced by a supply crunch.
Iran halted gas shipments to Turkey a week ago, six days after it was forced to slash exports from 20 million cubic meters a day to 5.0 million cubic meters.
The cut was brought about by severe cold weather in Iran that peaked domestic consumption and prompted a halt in gas supplies from Turkmenistan to the Islamic republic.
Turkey has been buying gas from Iran through a pipeline from the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz to Ankara since December 2001 under a deal that raised eyebrows in the U.S.
The news agency report said with the interruption in flows of natural gas from Iran, Turkey has increased its imports from Russian energy giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS).