Freezing Temperatures Push Up Gas Consumption in Iran

EghtesadOnline: Gas consumption in the household sector is expected to surpass 600 million cubic meters (per day) as cold spell is sweeping across many regions, head of the public relations office of the National Iranian Gas Company said.

News ID: ۷۸۵۲۸۸

20 January 2020

"Gas consumption climbed by 100 million cubic meters above average levels in the last two days and reached 600 million cubic meters, but supply to households and some industries has not been disrupted," Mohammad Asgari was quoted as saying by IRNA on Sunday.

The mercury has plunged to minus zero degrees Celsius in most provinces and the weatherman has forecast more extreme weather in the coming days, Financial Tribune reported.

Normal gas consumption in the country ranges between 470 to 530 mcm/d (in winter).

Iran's gas production and supply capacity stands at 800 million cubic meters per day, of which 50 mcm/d is exported to Iraq and Turkey.

According to the official, heavy consumption is taking its toll on industries, power stations and petrochemical plants as they are being gradually cut off from the national grid.

Close to 110 mcm/d of gas should be delivered to power plants, but this volume has been reduced to less than 40 mcm/d.

Asgari said if subscribers cut home temperature by 2 degrees centigrade, as much as 50 mcm of gas can be saved daily, which is equivalent to the gas produced in two phases of the giant South Pars Gas Field per day.

Almost 40% of gas in the Middle East is consumed in Iran, an unreasonably high level by any standard. The residential sector is the largest consumer followed by power plants and petrochem companies.

With a population of 80 million, Iran burns more than 140 billion cubic meters of gas annually, not far from China, the world’s second-largest economy and the most populous country in the world, which consumed 191 billion cubic meters in 2015.