August 26, 2010 (pdki.org): An official says suspected Kurdish rebels have blown up part of an Iranian-Turkish pipeline, shutting down the natural gas supply to Turkey.
Gov. Ali Yerlikaya of Agri province says no one was injured in the blast late Tuesday. The gas flow was immediately cut and repairs to the pipeline were under way Wednesday.
“The fire has been extinguished, and repair work is ongoing,” one official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Another Botas official said the blast, the cause of which was not immediately clear, occurred late on Tuesday. Repairs could take six to seven days to be completed, he said.
Yerlikaya did not say when the pipeline would be operational.
Suspected PKK Kurdish militants have attacked pipelines close to the border with Iraq and Iran in the past as part of their campaign for autonomy and to disrupt trade flows to Turkey from Iran. The militants also blew up a pipeline carrying natural gas from Iran to Turkey in July, forcing the shutdown of the conduit.
Iran is a major supplier of natural gas to Turkey, after Russia sending 10 billion cubic meters of gas each year.
Turkey’s exports to Iran amount to $1.87 billion while its imports are $7.84 billion and consist mostly of energy imports. It seems that Turkey’s primary interest in its relations with Iran is economic, while Iran wants better relations with Turkey as a means to break out of its international isolation.
Sources: pdki.org
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