Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 30/ Trend G.Mehdi/
Iran will start exporting natural gas to its neighboring countries in three years, IRNA quoted Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi as saying.
Negotiations are also underway with the neighboring countries for exporting crude oil, he added.
Iran's annual gas production capacity will double in three years, reaching 1.4 billion cubic meters, he said.
He went on to say that despite global sanctions 70-80 percent of the equipment which is needed by the petrochemical industry is now manufactured inside the country.
On November 30, Qasemi said that the country has overcome the tough economic sanctions and the oil industry is heading toward development.
Many development projects are underway and is projected that $150 billion will be invested in the oil sector, he added.
By March 2015, natural gas production will reach 1.4 billion cubic meters from 600 million cubic meters, Qasemi said.
In July, Qasemi said that although the West has imposed sanctions on Iran's oil sector with the goal of toppling the Islamic establishment, the country's oil exports will never be halted because oil consuming countries need Iranian crude.
Qasemi said in April that at least $30 billion will be invested in the domestic oil industry this year.
He added that a major portion of the sum will be allocated to the South Pars gas field projects.
The South Pars gas field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share, which is divided into 29 phases, has about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight percent of the total world reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources.