Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler has engaged in talks with the Iranian authorities over energy supplies for the winter, and appears to be optimistic that there will be no repetition of last winter's shutdown of supply. Guler told local news agencies that the Iranian authorities had assured him that there would 'not be any problems' with the supply of Iranian gas to Turkey. Local media reported that an Iranian deputy oil minister, Akbar Torkan, said that Turkey had asked for an increase in gas supplies. Iran supplies Turkey with approximately 10 Bcm/year of gas, around a third of the country's needs.