Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom on Wednesday increased gas supplies through the Blue Stream pipeline following an explosion on a pipeline carrying gas from Iran to Turkey. Gazprom said it upped supplies at Turkey's request from 14 to 22 million cubic meters. The blast occurred earlier on Wednesday on a pipeline near the eastern Turkish town of Dogubayazit, near the Iranian border. The cause of the blast is not known yet, but Iranian officials have begun an investigation into the incident. Gazprom said Turkey's Botas asked for 32 mln cu m to be shipped on Thursday.
It was earlier reported that Iran had stopped gas supplies to Turkey, though Iran said the stoppage was planned in order to carry out technical work on the pipeline. Gazprom said it plans to deliver a total of 30 billion cu m of gas to Turkey this year compared to 20 billion cu m in 2009.
