Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Some $30 billion worth of fuel was burnt at Iran's power plants and petrochemical units in the past Iranian solar year, which ended on March 20, 2014.
Iran's deputy oil minister Hamidreza Araqi said that once gas production at the South Pars gas field increases by 80 million cubic meters, fuel supply to power plants and petrochemical units will decrease, Iran's Shana news agency reported on May 4.
The share of gas in fueling Iran's power plants is getting lower year-to-year, while expensive and polluting liquid fuels consumption rate in this sector dramatically increases.
National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) announced on April 16 that during last fiscal year - which covers a period from March 20, 2013 to March, 20, 2014- supplying gas to power plants decreased by 8 percent, while the consumption of liquid fuels in this sector increased to 27 billion liter, indicate 19 percent increase comparing to the previous year.
Iranian Fars News Agency quoted the Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian on April 10 as saying that 44 percent of burnt fuel in power plants was liquid fuels, including oil-gas and fuel oil during the last Iranian fiscal year.
During the last Iranian fiscal year, gas power plants, combined cycle power plants, and steam power plants consumed about 526.4 billion cubic feet (bcf) (14.906 bcm), 486.91 bcf (3.788 bcm) and 271.67 bcf (7.693 bcm) respectively.
Some 1.285 tcf (36.387 bcm) of natural gas has been burnt in power plants in Iran during the last fiscal year, while the nominal gas consumption capacity of Iran's power plants is between 1.760 tcf to 1.871 tcf (49.75 bcm to 53 bcm) annually.