Tehran, Iran, May 14
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran plans to increase its gas output capacity by 100 million cubic meters per day, as soon as its four offshore oil rigs become operational.
The rigs will become operational in 12 months, and as soon as they come on stream, the the country's gas production capacity will rise, Gholamreza Manouchehri, managing director of Iranian Offshore Engineering & Construction Company (IOEC), said on May 14, Iran's IRIB News Agency reported.
Manouchehri went on to note that IOEC is planning to carry out some projects overseas.
IOEC is in charge of constructing drilling rigs, as well as transporting and installing sub-sea pipelines in several Iranian fields.
Iran's oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on May 3 that the country plans to export gas to Europe via pipeline or in the form of LNG (liquid gas).
He noted that Iran is a country capable of exporting large volumes of gas and is always willing to provide gas to Europe.
"Once the phases of South Pars gas field come on stream in next [Iranian calendar] year (to start on March 1, 2015), Iran will have extra gas to export," he said.
Zanganeh said on April 19 that Iran plans to export 80 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Asia and Europe in calendar year 1400 (March 2021-March 2022).
"We are planning to export 80 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey, Europe, Iraq, Pakistan, and the Persian Gulf Arab states," he said.
"We should boost oil, gas, electricity, and petrochemicals through diversifying sales methods and through cooperating with the private sector," he said, adding that the country's oil refining capacity is projected to rise to three million barrels per day.
In March, Zanganeh said Iran forecasts an increase in its crude oil and natural gas production in the current Iranian calendar year 1393, which began on March 21.
Iran's crude oil output is forecast to increase by about 200,000 barrels per day to 4 million barrels per day, and its daily natural gas output is forecast to increase by about 100 million cubic meters per day to 400 million cubic meters per day.
...