Due US sanction, Iran cannot enter the European gas market; Expert

Speaking to ILNA news correspondent, Morteza Behroozifar, an energy expert refereed to the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and said “Due to US sanctions, Iran cannot export its gas to European market and TANAP pipeline isn’t an exception.”

Turkey and Azerbaijan formally marked the completion of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on Saturday, a milestone in a major project to help reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.

The $6.5 billion TANAP crosses the breadth of Turkey, east to west, and could transport up to 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Azeri gas a year. Europe is allocated 10 bcm, with 6 bcm earmarked for the Turkish market. Capacity could be increased to 31 bcm with additional investment.

 “Another issue is that Iran, as the world's second-largest gas reserves holder, could actually be a big player but Russia will not tolerate it, so Moscow is doing its best to prevent it.”

“If there are no sanctions, Iran can both increase production and reduce consumption so we can export a significant portion to the world but as long as sanctions are in place it is virtually impossible to increase production or enter the European market,” Behroozifar confirmed.

He added that it doesn't matter if we use the TANAP or Nabucco, or build an independent pipeline; it's a matter of delivering gas to Europe, whether it's going to Spain or Italy.

The energy expert said one of our problems with exporting gas to Europe is Turkey; Turkey is interested in buying gas from Iran and re-exporting it, meaning it does not want Iran to be a transit route unless the EU presses Ankara to accept it.

The first part of TANAP pipeline is designed to supply Turkish domestic customers, while the second part is expected to run further - from Bulgaria to Serbia and Hungary.

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