And even though nobody has admitted to the the sabotage, Turkish officials suspect the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
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Iran has looked to Turkey as a potential transit option to get its natural gas reserves to European countries.
Taner Yildiz said Tuesday the explosion was in Agri province, some 15 kilometers from the Iranian border, and he suggested Kurdish rebels were to blame. “The explosion caused a fire”.
Currently, Turkey purchases about a quarter of its 40 billion cubic meters of piped natural gas from Iran, making the latter the second-largest supplier to the country after Russian Federation.
He said the pipeline taking Iran’s gas to Turkey is operated by BOTAŞ company on the Turkish side, which is now repairing the damaged section of the pipeline. Natural gas is used for nearly half of its electricity generation.
Turkey launched air strikes on PKK camps in northern Iraq last week, which has also included bombing Islamic State militants in northern Syria. The PKK has announced that the military action renders the ceasefire meaningless, though they have not officially voided it.
Since last week, armed attacks on police and gendarmerie in Turkey’s mostly Kurdish south-east, crisscrossed by several energy pipelines, have increased sharply.
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Turkey did not request additional gas from other countries following the explosion, as there was no shortage in meeting domestic demand, according to a Botas official, Reuters said.
