The cold wave that is also hitting Iran these days is bringing peaks in gas consumption as the Iranians try to warm up. Last weekend, consumption peaked at 692 million cubic meters per day. Oil Minister Javad Oji called on the public to save on gas consumption and his recommendation to them was to "dress warm" instead of turning on the heaters.

Increased consumption in Iran is leading to a reduction in gas supplies on its part also to neighboring Iraq where extensive power outages have been reported in recent days.