Tehran, Iran, July 13
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iran is able to turn gas export to Europe operational within one year if economic sanctions on the country are lifted, an analyst predicts.
The physical side of the work, that is preparing the facilities, would be over in six months to one year and the optimal export will begin after that, Mohammad Ali Sadeghi, international gas, oil, and energy affairs expert told Trend July 13.
Sadeghi pointed out that Iran has no problem regarding gas resources to expand its target markets. Neither are there any shortcomings in relation to the hardware and expertise that Iran would need to export gas to Europe, he stressed.
He added that by tapping its Asaluyeh facilities and domestic expertise, Iran is fully capable of stretching new export routes.
The expert stated that things depend on the European Union's approach to Iran and how the EU would choose to tap opportunities in the gas-rich country.
In another part of his statements, Sadeghi mentioned current EU-Russia relations, adding that due to its interests in having relations with the EU, Iran does not interfere with ongoing affairs between the EU and Russia.
Iran has the long-term potential to become one of the world's top gas producers, thanks to its 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, or around 18% of the world's total, Fitch Ratings said in a report on July 10.
It noted Iran is planning a number of gas export pipelines pending the removal of international sanctions. One example is IGAT- 9, a 35 bcm per year pipeline that Iran plans to use to send gas from South Pars to Europe via Turkey.
There are currently no transit pipelines in Turkey to deliver gas to the European markets, Fitch said. The only pipeline that is currently under construction is the 16 bcm Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), which will bring 10 bcm of Azerbaijani gas via Turkey and Greece to Italy via another yet-to-be-constructed Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
It should be noted that July 13 is the most recent deadline Iran and the group P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) have given themselves to reach a deal on Tehran's nuclear program which is expected to remove economic sanctions on Iran including the EU restrictive measures against oil and gas export.
Edited by CN
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