Tehran, Iran, Nov. 23
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran's gas output will be doubled in the next three years.
The Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Company Hamidreza Araqi said that the country's total gas production will reach 330 billion cubic meters in the Iranian calendar year of 1396 (to start on March 21, 2018).
"Some $62 billion is required to construct necessary infrastructure," he said.
Deputy Oil Minister Emad Hosseini said on Nov. 22 that five phases of giant South Pars gas field will start production by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2015).
Hosseini said that phases 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18 will most probably come on stream by the end of January 2015, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on Nov. 22.
"Once the phases come on stream, Iran's gas output will be increased by 120 million cubic meters per day," he said.
The official went on to note that Iran's oil production capacity is expected to reach 5.2 million barrels per day by the end of the Iranian calendar year of 1397 (March 20, 2019).
The current figure is around 4.2 million barrels per day.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangneh said on Nov. 21 that some 44 billion cubic meters of gas will be added to the country's total output in the next Iranian calendar year (to start March 21, 2015).
The minister went on to note that Iran's gas consumption in the current year is 100 million cubic meters more than in the previous year.
"Iran will reduce its liquid fuel consumption in the next three years," he added.
"Currently some 600 million cubic meters of gas per day are being delivered to the National Iranian Gas Company," Zanganeh said.
Iran faced severe gas shortage in previous winter. The country was forced to cut gas supply to industrial units and petrochemical complexes for several occasions.
Houshang Taheri, an official with the National Iranian Gas Company, predicted on Nov. 2 that Iranian households' gas consumption would reach 350 million cubic meters per day in cold days, Iran's SHANA News Agency reported.
He went on to note that the households' consumption was around 120 million cubic meters per day at the end of September.
"The number of consumers of the national network increased by 8 percent compared to the same period of the previous year," Taheri said.
The Managing Director of Iran's Natural Gas Storage Company Masoud Samivand said on October 29 that the country is able to pump 20 million cubic meters of gas per day from Sarajeh and Shoorijeh gas storage facilities to the country's national gas network in cold months.
"If the temperatures continue to drop, the country will start extracting gas from storage facilities in two weeks," he said, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on October 29.
Samivand said on October 27 that some 2 billion cubic meters of gas have been stored in the country's storage facilities, Iran's ILNA News Agency reported.
According to BP's latest yearly report, Iran's dried gas output is about 160 bcm, a little more than a domestic consumption level.
Iran exported 7.5 bcm of gas to Turkey and imported 4.5 bcm gas from Turkmenistan in 2012, according to BP's report.