Iran eyes increasing volumes of gas supplies
By Nigar Abbasova
The Islamic Republic of Iran, the country with the largest natural gas reserves in the world, works towards increasing the volume of its gas supplies and entering the European market.
Head of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hamidreza Araqi said his country wants to increase its share in the global gas trade from the current 1 percent up to 10 percent, increasing volumes of gas export, including LNG, up to about 60-80 bcm by 2021.
He mentioned that Iran eyes exporting its gas to neighboring countries and the EU, the fact, however, does not imply that the Iranian gas will be a rival to Russian “blue fuel”.
He said that the country is not intended to compete with Russia in this regard, as every country has its own target market.
Despite rich oil and gas reserves, international sanctions imposed on the country had restricted Iran's ability to sell its gas and oil in the world markets or to participate in multinational pipeline projects. The country is now focused on reviving its energy sector and regaining its market share.
Iran currently extracts some 600 mcm of gas on a daily basis, while the figure is planned to be increased up to 1.26 billion within the coming 4 years, mainly by means of increasing volumes of extraction at South Pars natural gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf. The field is shared by Iran and Qatar.
The country doesn’t produce LNG, and its only LNG plant (Iran LNG) was developed by 52 percent during pre-sanctions era. Today, Iran is in talks with foreign companies to complete the project, aimed to produce 10.4 million tons of LNG (which equals to some 14 bcm of gas per year).
The managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company earlier said Iran is aiming to develop liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities to start shipments in two years. Analysts, however, say the country is unlikely to ramp up production in that time frame.
Tehran sees its neighbors in the Persian Gulf, namely Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as potential buyers of its gas, as both countries do not possess own significant gas reserves.
Moreover, Araqi had earlier announced that Iran’s exports of gas to Turkey could increase by 6 mcm per day, emphasizing that the increase in exports of gas to Turkey can be implemented through the existing infrastructure.
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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova
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