Iran Gas Export to Iraq at 1.2 bcm

EghtesadOnline: Iran has exported 1.2 billion cubic meters of gas to Iraq since late June, the managing director of Iranian Gas Transmission Company said on Saturday, according to Shana, the website of the Iranian Oil Ministry.

News ID: ۷۸۰۵۰۳

20 November 2017

"Iran has planned for the export of up to 25 million cubic meters of gas per day to Baghdad," Saeed Tavakkoli was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The neighbors, both members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, initially signed a deal in 2013 for Iran to supply Iraqi power stations, but officials in the past blamed poor security in Iraq for hampering implementation.

Iran signed two contracts to export gas, one for the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the other for the southern Iraqi city of Basra, Iranian state media reported in June, according to Financial Tribune.

Tavakkoli said exports of up to 25 million cubic meters of gas per day to Basra will start as soon as Iraq is ready.

Iran, which has huge gas reserves alongside its oil resources, exports small amounts of gas to Turkey but production has struggled to keep pace with rising domestic consumption.

Experts say years of sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program have also hindered the development of gas projects. Some sanctions have been lifted since a nuclear deal was reached with world powers.

Officials estimate that supplies to Turkey and Iraq can take gas exports to the feasible level of 80 million cubic meters a day if exports to Turkey reach and stabilize at the highest envisioned level.

Iran has embarked on diversifying its gas market on the back of increasing output from South Pars, a major natural gas deposit it shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf. Government data show the country is producing over 800 million cubic meters of gas daily, more than two-thirds of which come from South Pars.