Tehran, Iran, Jun. 15
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
A gas pipeline Between Iran and Iraq will be completed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2015).
Alireza Qaribi, the Managing Director of Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company (IGEDC) said that once the 100-kilometer pipeline comes on stream Iran will start exporting 7 million cubic meters of gas to Iraq, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on June 15.
"Once Iran's 6th cross-country gas pipeline comes on stream, the country can increase its gas exports to Iraq," he explained.
"The 6th cross-country gas pipeline will be completed ni the next [Iranian] year (to start March 21, 2015)," he said.
The Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Company Hamidreza Araqi said on June 14 that Tehran and Baghdad have not started their negotiation over signing a second gas export contract.
"The proposed route for the second deal is to transfer Iranian gas to the Iraqi city of Basra," he said, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported on June 14.
"But we haven't signed any contract yet," he said. "Iran will start exporting gas to Baghdad by the end of the current Iranian calendar year [March 20, 2015]."
It is while Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Ali Majedi said on May 19 that Iran will start exporting gas to Iraq once the two sides complete their share of the gas pipeline.
"The construction operation will be completed next Iranian calendar year (to start on March 21, 2015)," he said, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on May 19.
"The two sides are working hard to construct the pipeline as soon as possible," Iran's deputy oil minister explained.
"Based on the signed contract, Iran and Iraq can postpone the starting day of gas exports to next year," Majedi said.
"Iran has completed 80 percent of the pipeline on its soil," he explained.
"Iran has agreed to export 40 million cubic meters of gas to Iraq," he added.
Once the deal becomes operational, Baghdad will become Tehran's main gas buyer, overtaking Ankara's place, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on May 21.
Majedi said that the signed contract was valid for 4 years, but based on the agreement reached between the two countries' ministers the contract have been extended to ten years.
It is while, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Hamidreza Araqi said on Mar. 4 that based on an agreement with Iraq, Tehran will start exporting gas to Baghdad in summer, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported.
Previously it was announced that Iran will start exporting gas to Iraq in spring.
"Iran will start exporting gas to Iraq limitedly with 3 or 4 million cubic meters per day," Araqi said.
He went on to note that Iran will implement the deal in 3 phases.
"Transition to the second phase will take some time because some 300 kilometers of pipeline should be laid, "he explained.
Iranian Fars News Agency reported in February that once the pipeline is ready, Tehran will start exporting 7 million cubic meters of gas per day to Baghdad.
The figure will reach 40 million cubic meters in the first phase. It is while Iran was supposed to export only 25 million cubic meters of gas per day to its southwestern neighbor in the first phase.
Iranian gas is expected to account for 30-35 per cent and 65-70 percent of Iraqi households and power plants' gas consumption, respectively.
The managing director of National Iranian Gas Exports Company Alireza Kameli said on Dec. 7 that Iraq has requested to increase its gas imports from Iran up to 90 million cubic meters per day, the IRNA News Agency reported.
"The two sides have agreed to increase the volume of Iran's gas exports to Baghdad to 40 million cubic meters from the current 25 million," he explained.
Kameli went on to note that Iran will start with exporting 25 million cubic meters of gas in 2014 and will increase the figure to 40 million cubic meters in 2015.
"The two sides have also agreed to extend the deal for 10 years," he said.
The deal was previously valid for 4 years.
Iran will also export 50 million cubic meters of gas to Iraqi city of Basra.
Iran plans to construct two pipelines to export gas to Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Basra. Iran's sixth cross-country gas pipeline will feed the mentioned two pipelines.