Dalga Khatinoglu, Trend Iran News Service chief/
Last week Iran's gas consumption rose to 480mcm/d and according to the head of Iran's National Gas Company Javad Owji, it's predicted that the country's daily gas consumption will rise to 580 to 600 mcm in the winter months.
Iran has consumed 90bcm of natural gas (averaging 246mcm/d) during the first eight hot months of the current solar year which began on March 20, including a 36bcm housing gas consumption which equals 156mcm/p.
According to BP's annual statistics, Iran's gas production (excluding flared and recycled gas) in 2011 was 153.3bcm (some 420 mcm/d), while the consumption volume was 151.8bcm in 2011, indicating a 1.5bcm negative balance. Iran's yearly gas consumption growth for the next 10 years is estimated at nine to 11 per cent.
Iran has to compensate this negative balance with importing gas from Turkmenistan, at least several billion cubic meters more than its 10bcm yearly gas export commitment to Turkey based on a contract signed in 1996.
Now, Iran says Turkmenistan has halted the gas supply to Iran, a challenge that seems to make Iran's winter frostier for population.
Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on Tuesday that the country's debts to Turkmenistan gas has amounted to around one billion dollars because of the obstacles in routing money transactions from and to Iran due to the western sanctions.
Iran has not increased gas production significantly since the incomplete inauguration of the South Pars gas field's nine and 10 phases in March 2009, the phases that had been scheduled to produce 50mcm/d of gas, but six wells haven't come on stream so far and Iran produces only 42mcm/d of gas from them. The other phases from 11 to 24 have been delayed, or development work has not yet started. According to BP, Iran's gas production rose only 3.5 per cent in 2011 compared to the previous year.
Owji said two months ago that Turkmenistan had supplied 15 to 18mbm/d during the first eight months of the Iranian solar year (52 per cent less than same period in the last solar year), while the figure plunged to 5mcm in September.
Last month, Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Gasemi announced that Turkmenistan halted its gas supply to Iran. It is double damage for Iran, not only because of Iran's vital demand for Turkmen gas in winter, but because Iran's imported gas price from Ashgabat is very much less than its exported gas to Turkey which is $500 per 1000 cm.