Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 3
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran is prepared for different scenarios to export gas to Europe.
Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Company Hamid Reza Araqi said after the agreement with P5+1 group, in addition to exporting gas to neighboring countries, it will be possible to export gas to Europe via Turkey, Shana news agency reported on October 3.
"Experts believe that natural gas should be turned into LNG. Only in such a way exporting gas to Europe will be justified," Araqi said.
Exporting gas via Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan will be also possible, he noted.
Iran plans to increase the raw gas output from the current 700 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) to 1,100 mcm/d in 2018.
With its 34 trillion cubic meters of conventional gas reserves, Iran ranks first in the world.
Alireza Kameli, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company, said in August that piping natural gas to Europe is not economically justifiable under the present conditions.
Kameli has emphasized that neighboring states as well as Asian markets are today the prime target of Iran's gas export plans.
Exporting gas to nearby countries, the official said, is much more cost-effective than taking it to Europe through a pipeline of several thousand kilometers.