Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 17 / Trend F.Milad/
Managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said that deals for exporting natural gas to Europe will be finalized by the end of the current calendar year, March 19, the Shana news agency reported.
NIGC head Javad Owji added that Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon have given the green light for transiting Iran's natural gas to Europe.
Inaugurating the undeveloped South Pars gas field phases by the next 2-3 years will boost Iran's gas production capacity to some 1.4 billion cubic meters annually, a percentage of which will be exported, he noted.
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.
Iran ranks second in the world in natural gas reserves after Russia with available gas reserves estimated at over 33 trillion cubic meters.
Besides exporting gas to Turkey, Armenia, and Pakistan, the country is currently negotiating gas exports to Iraq.