May 29, 2009 - 22:59 AMT
Turkey intends to carry Iranian gas to consumers in Europe
Construction has been started on pipeline from Iran through Turkey and on to consumers in Europe to carry Iranian gas, officials said.

Construction has been started on a 1,740 kilometre pipeline from Iran through Turkey and on to consumers in Europe to carry Iranian gas, said the head of economic affairs at the Iranian embassy in Turkey on Friday.

Turkey, which has announced plans to produce an annual 20.4 billion cubic meters of gas in Iran's South Pars gas field and export it over its territory, already has one gas pipeline through which it imports 28 million cubic meters of gas daily.

"The Pars Pipeline will go from Turkey to Greece, through Italy and on to other European countries. Another route could go through Iraq and Syria and then go through the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy," said Ahmad Noorani, the Iranian embassy's chief of economic affairs.

Noorani said it was also looking at shipping its gas through the Nabucco pipeline, but no contracts have yet been signed, Reuters reported.