Azerbaijan, Baku, Mar.27/ Trend F.Milad
Tehran wants to diversify its gas exports destinations in the current Iranian calendar year which began March 21, the managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company said on Wednesday.
Iran plans to start exporting gas to neighbouring states such as Pakistan and Iraq, the Fars News Agency quoted Javad Owji as saying.
He went on to note that the country plans to increase its gas exports volume to Turkey.
Iran currently exports 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Turkey which equals 30 million cubic meters per day.
According to Owji, once Iran's sixth nationwide gas pipeline comes on stream, the country can boost its gas export volume to Turkey up to 80 million cubic meters per day.
Iran plans to export gas to Europe through Turkey and four million barrels of oil products daily to Iraq.
The agreement was reached during Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi's visit to Baghdad last month.
Based on the agreement, Iran will export a daily two to four million litres of oil products from the Bandar Abbas refinery to Iraq by sea.
Deputy Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said in February that Tehran and Baghdad have signed a gas contract.
Based on this, Iran will export a daily 20 million cubic meters of gas to Iraq as of this summer, the Mehr News Agency quoted Owji as saying.
The country will eventually increase the volume up to 25 million cubic meters per day, he added. It will transfer the gas to the border via the sixth nationwide gas pipeline, he said.
Owji, also the managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), went on to note that Iraq will use the gas to produce electricity in two power plants.
Iran currently produces 550-600 million cubic meters of gas per day.
The Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi announced in January there are plans to sign some new gas export contracts in the near future.
By the end of the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (March 2016), Iran's gas production capacity would reach one billion cubic meters per day, Qasemi said.
By the end of the plan, the country will also produce 5.6 million barrels of oil per day, he added.