Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10
By Rahim Zamanov - Trend:
Natural gas currently accounts for about 7 percent of Iranian power plants' fuel consumption, the managing director of National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC), Mostafa Kashkouli, said on Jan. 10, the Mehr News Agency reported.
"From the beginning of the current calendar year (March 21, 2013) some 21 billion liters of liquid fuels have been consumed in Iran's power plants, which is about four billion liters more than the same period of time last year," he said.
"During the mentioned period, gas supply to power plants was around 3.5 billion liters less than the same period last year," Kashkouli explained.
Currently some 135 million liters of liquid gas per day is being consumed in the power plants.
It was reported in December that gas supply to industries in Iran has been limited, while domestic gas consumption has reached a critical level due to severe cold weather.
Supplying gas to power plants has been limited, and the country's main industries including steel, cement and petrochemical industries have faced a gas shortage.
The National Iranian Gas Company announced on Dec. 21 that it has limited gas supply to petrochemicals with the oil ministry's approval.
"Based on the oil ministry's order, the NIGC can cut gas supply to petrochemical complexes for two months and industrial units for four months in case of severe shortage," the company announced.
"However, currently some 30 million cubic meters of gas per day is being supplied to industrial units, while petrochemical units receive 20 million cubic meters per day," the company's statement added.
The country's power plants currently use oil products including fuel oil and kerosene instead of gas.
Iran's power plants need 140-150 million cubic meters of gas per day, but with the gas shortage the country is facing, the power plants have turned to consuming fuel oil or kerosene.
The Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Company, Hamidrez Araqi, said on Jan. 7 that Iran's gas consumption currently stands at around 576 million cubic meters per day.
"Households' consumption is around 483 million cubic meters per day which accounts for 84-85 percent of the country's total consumption," the IRIB News Agency quoted Araqi as saying.
"Households' gas consumption in Iran is 4.5 times more than Europe, 15 times more than Japan, and 1.5 times more than Africa," he explained.
Araqi made the remarks in a televised interview.
He further urged households to economize on the consumption of natural gas.
Araqi, also the country's deputy oil minister, went on to note gas consumption by the household sector has increased by 50 million cubic meters per day compared to last winter.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Dec. 28 that the National Iranian Gas Company currently supplies gas to some 86 per cent of the country's total population, the IRNA News Agency reported.
Zanganeh had previously said on Nov. 29 that the coming winter will be the hardest one in the country's history in terms of gas shortage.
However, Zanganeh said that the Iranians will face no difficulty in the season, the IRNA News Agency reported.
Edited by C.N.