On Jan. 29, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Tehran to bolster trade and energy ties, hoping to reach $30 billion in trade volume by the end of 2015. Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz followed up with an offer Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh promptly accepted. Under the terms of the agreement, Tehran will reduce its gas prices if Turkey doubles its gas imports — from 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 20 bcm. Despite the price-reduction commitment, if the gas-import volume continues to increase, Turkey could face a critical budget threat, as Turkey’s gas bills have averaged 9% higher than its consumption volume should have cost over the last six years.
Zanganeh said, "We are willing to lower the gas price supplied to Turkey on the condition that it increases the volume of imported gas from Iran." He noted that the share of gas Turkey buys is important for Iran. According to the US Energy Information Administration, Turkey purchases more than 90% of Iran’s natural gas exports under a long-term contract.
