Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 24
By Dalga Khatinoglu – Trend:
Iran’s gas consumption in the housing sector soared to 480 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) on Nov.23.
Meanwhile, two days before, the Iranian government got alarmed over the rising gas usage in the country’s housing sector to about 400 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) and it forecasted a 50-mcm/d growth by late November.
However, the volume surprisingly reached 480 mcm/d, as three times as the average volume for spring and summer.
Majid Boujarzadeh, spokesman of National Iranian Gas Company told Shana news agency Nov.4 that the gas consumption in the housing sector would reach 500 mcm/d in the coming days.
Last year, in some winter days, Iran’s gas usage in this sector broke a record, reaching 496 mcm/d.
According to a document, prepared by Iran’s oil ministry and seen by Trend, the housing sector consumed about 164 mcm/d in the first five months of the current fiscal year (March 21 to August 22).
Iran has increased its gas production “capacity” during the current fiscal year by 40 mcm/d and a further 60 mcm/d growth is expected by March 21, mostly in winter.
|
Gas consumption |
2014/2015 (bcm) |
2013/2014 (bcm) |
||
|
Housing sector |
91 |
88.9 |
||
|
Industrial sector |
32.45 |
29.8 |
||
|
Power plants |
50.5 |
36.8 |
||
|
Export |
10 |
9.7 |
||
|
Imports |
9 |
4.5 |
||
|
Gas lose |
9 |
9 |
||
|
Re-injection |
33.9 |
32.9 |
||
|
Flaring |
11.7 |
11.7 |
Housing sector in Iran consumes about 46 percent of Iran’s total sweet gas production, which stood at 520 mcm/d last year. The volume reached 537.6 mcm/d in five months of the current fiscal year, the Oil Ministry’s document said. However, this is not the total capacity, because Iran produces less sweet gas in warm seasons due to maintenance and repairing of the platforms and refineries.
Iran’s power plants also consumed 201 mcm/d, while the industrial sector and petrochemical plants used 89 mcm/d and 49 mcm/d of gas respectively in five months of the current fiscal year.
It seems, Iran would have to decrease the gas deliveries to these sectors significantly to meet the housing sector’s gas demand this winter.
Iran’s total gas production, including flaring and re-injections to oil fields stood at 735 mcm/d in five months of the current fiscal year.
Iran’s nominal gas refining capacity stood at 748.8 mcm/d last fiscal year, but there is not any information about the current nominal and actual refining capacity.
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Dalga Khatinoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Iran news service, follow him on Twitter: @dalgakhatinoglu