Tehran, Iran, May 21
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
A new pipeline to export Iran’s natural gas to Iraq will be officially launched in the near future, NIGC (National Iran Gas Company) Planning Director Hassan Montazer Torbati said.
“The new pipeline (that will be diverged from the Sixth Iran Gas Trunk Line) will become operational soon,” Montazer Torbati said on May 21, IRNA news agency reported.
He added that the pipeline development is aimed at improving the country’s infrastructure and boosting gas supply in western and northwestern provinces.
Iran is currently exporting gas to Iraq from Naftshahr region in Kermanshah Province through a pipeline diverging from the Sixth Iran Gas Trunkline (IGAT-6), he said.
Montazer Torbati said the new pipeline would stretch for around 257 kilometers from the city of Ahvaz to Dehgolan town in Kurdistan province.
According to Hamid Reza Araqi, he managing director of state-run National Iranian Gas Company, IGAT-6 is a major component of the national gas grid which will have the capacity to transfer 110 million cubic meters of gas per day from South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf to southern and western regions.
The Iraqi government approved a deal in late 2017 to import gas from Iran to the eastern border province of Diyala, increasing purchases of the Iranian fuel, which started in June after several years of delays.
As per the deal, Iran committed itself to exporting gas to the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
About 12 mcm/d of gas per day are currently transferred to Baghdad, making Iraq the second largest gas customer of Iran after Turkey, which imported about 21 mcm/d in 2016, according to the latest BP Statistical Review of World Energy.
Basra, Iraq's second largest city, also needs Iranian gas to feed its power plant as part of efforts to reduce outages that have turned into a persistent source of public discontent and the export will commence soon.
Araqi noted that if the goal is achieved, Iraq will become the biggest importer of Iran's gas by overtaking Turkey.
Iran's gas export to Turkey currently stands at about 30 mcm/d.
"The project can to a great extent help Iran advance its plans on expansion of natural gas exports," he concluded.
Iran produces more than 800 million cubic meters of gas per day, but exports a fraction to Turkey, Russia and Iraq. The country holds the world's largest gas reserves and is followed by Russia.
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