Azerbaijan, Baku, June 3 / Trend , T.Jafarov/
Director for Planning of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Seyyed Reza Hosseini spoke with Trend in an exclusive interview.
Trend : Iran has signed the contract to export gas to Pakistan. What do you think, is this project efficient?
Seyyed Reza Hosseini: Export of the Iranian gas to any country, including Pakistan, may be beneficial, if prices are efficient for Iran. We have not yet determined the price of gas for Pakistan. Our company jointly with the Iranian government is determining such a price which will be beneficial for Iran. Otherwise, the export of the Iranian gas to Pakistan will be out of question.
Q: Some experts think Iran can export gas to Pakistan only after completing the Southern Pars project...
A: At present several stages of the Southern Pars are under implementation. It is true, there were some delays in implementing the project, but export of the Iranian gas to Pakistan may also take several years.
Q: Which work is your company conducting in Iran at the moment?
A: At present new pipelines with 2,000 kilometer-length are being laid in Iran due to increase in gas consumption.
Q: The Iranian Oil Minister has recently stated that a level of energy consumption in Iran is too high and if it lasts so, then Iran will become energy resource importer in 2021 ...
A: Indeed, our energy consumption policy is wrong, as the minister said. We think the gas use must be more rational. We have own program to raise gas prices for its effective use. In our opinion, the low prices for gas in Iran lead to its inefficient use. At present, experts are working on this issue. We plan to gradually increase the gas prices, for which the law must be amended and these amendments, in turn, must be approved by the parliament. We believe that the real cost of gas will lead to more efficient exploitation.
Q: You are attending the international oil exhibition in Baku at the moment. Are you holding any discussions on cooperation with Azerbaijan?
A: We can assist Azerbaijan in exporting gas to Turkey. There is an old export gas pipeline connecting Iran and Russia [via Azerbaijan]. We have technical opportunities to restore the pipeline. We can create conditions to export the Azerbaijani gas to Turkey via Iran.