BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Gas swap supplies, energy infrastructure and petrochemical cooperation could drive a new stage of economic interaction between Iran, Turkmenistan and Central Asia, Iranian Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Mehdi Heydari said.
This was reflected in a press release published by the press service of the Turkmen government yesterday, following Heydari’s remarks at the Turkmenistan Investment Forum TIF 2026, held in Ashgabat.
During his speech, Heydari identified energy as priority, that could become a driver of a new stage of economic cooperation.
“There are broad opportunities to utilize the potential of gas swap supplies, develop infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of energy resources, as well as deepen cooperation in the petrochemical industry,” Heydari said.
Notably, Iran has already used its gas infrastructure to facilitate the delivery of Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan under a trilateral swap arrangement. Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan signed the agreement in November 2021, with implementation beginning in January 2022. The arrangement provided for up to 1.5-2 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas per year to be supplied to Azerbaijan through Iran.
The mechanism was subsequently expanded, with Azerbaijan receiving about 1.8 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas through Iran in 2023. The deliveries were suspended in January 2024 amid several technical issues.
In June 2026, Iranian Deputy Petroleum Minister and Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Saeid Tavakkoli told Trend in an exclusive interview that Iran was ready to transport gas from Turkmenistan or other neighboring countries to third markets through its territory. He also said the previous short-term agreement on the swap of Turkmen gas to Azerbaijan had been successfully implemented, although work under the agreement was currently suspended.
