Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday hailed the launch of a gas pipeline link to Iran from its energy-rich neighbor Turkmenistan, while on a visit to the Central Asian state.
Ahmadinejad and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov are set to inaugurate the new pipeline which will more than double gas trade between their two states in a ceremony Wednesday.
The trip is also the Iranian president's first abroad since a crackdown on opposition supporters in Tehran left at least eight dead.
"The realization of the gas pipeline plays a big role in strengthening the energy security of the countries of the region," Ahmadinejad told reporters after talks with Berdymukhamedov in the capital. "The Turkmenistan-Iran pipeline is not only an economic project but an event uniting our countries with the aim of strengthening our partnership."
The 30.5-kilometer pipeline from Turkmenistan's southwest Dovletabad field will supply Iran's Khangiran gas refinery initially with 6 billion cubic meters of gas a year, according to the Turkmen Energy Ministry.
"The Turkmenistan-Iran gas pipeline that we are opening tomorrow is an important moment for both states' energy partnership as we continue to develop our ties in the gas sphere," Berdymukhamedov in turn told reporters.
The new Dovletabad-Sarakhs-Khangiran gas pipeline will raise Turkmenistan's total yearly gas supplies to Iran to up to 20 bcm, including through an existing pipeline link, the Energy Ministry said. Previously, gas from the Dovletabad field was used exclusively for export to Russia but Turkmenistan hailed the new project as a means of diversifying its exports from its former Soviet overlord.
The new pipeline "is the logical continuation of Turkmenistan's politics of diversification of its gas pipeline network...to expand and add to traditional routes in order to access new, promising markets," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Last month, Turkmenistan unveiled a landmark 7,000-kilometer pipeline to supply Turkmen gas to energy-hungry China. The move came amid an eight-month interruption in gas shipments to Russia that raised questions on Moscow's sway in the energy-rich state, with Turkmenistan seeking closer relations with China and Iran.
The Central Asian state and Russia sealed a new gas accord to resume supplies in December.