TEHRAN (FNA)- Managing-Director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hamid Reza Araqi dismissed the media reports that Turkmenistan has increased the price of its gas supplies to Iran.Some media reports claimed earlier that Turkmenistan has increased the price of its gas exports to Iran.
The Turkmen side has not increased its gas price, Araqi said.
He underlined that Turkmenistan is committed to export more natural gas to Iran during winter.
Iran has increased its imports of natural gas from neighboring Turkmenistan since the beginning of the second half of the current Iranian year (started September 23), Araqi said.
According to Iranian official statistics, Turkmenistan exported 11.8 billion cubic meters of gas to Iran during the last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20).
In November 2012, former NIGC chief Javad Oji said Iran has developed a plan to launch a new pipeline in a bid to boost gas supply to its Caspian Sea provinces and cut the country's dependence on gas imports from Turkmenistan.
The 160-kilometer proposed pipeline is projected to carry natural gas from Semnan province to Mazandaran province, Oji said.
Earlier this year, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow hailed the existing friendly relations between Tehran and Ashgabat, and stressed the need for the expansion of mutual cooperation between the two nations in all fields, particularly in the establishment of peace and security in the region.
Iran and Turkmenistan have a very close view on the establishment of peace, stability and tranquility in the region, Larijani said in a meeting with Berdimuhamedow in Ashgabat.
He praised Turkmenistans considerable progress during recent years, saying Iran is ready to work closely with the country to contribute to its development.
Iran is ready to carry out infrastructural projects in Turkmenistan, particularly with regard to roads, refineries, oil and gas, the Iranian speaker pointed out.
The Turkmenistan president, for his part, lauded the growing trend of bilateral cooperation with Iran on various political, economic and cultural arenas; expressing hope the two countries will witness further expansion of relations.
By Fars News Agency
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