“Gas refineries went under major renovation and overhaul in the first half of the year (March-September), in preparation for the winter,” IRNA quoted Masoud Zardouyan as saying.
The bulk of natural gas sold to refineries is processed for household consumption and the rest goes for refined products, including LNG, which has high demand outside Iran especially in the neighboring countries.
Iran sits on the second largest gas reserves in the world after Russia and ranks third in terms of daily output, according to Financial Tribune.
This progress is largely due to development plans at South Pars, the world’s largest gas field shared with Qatar in the Persian Gulf.
Developed in 24 phases, the giant reservoir covers an area of 3,700 square kilometers of Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.
Routine Overhaul
Since the beginning of the fiscal year (in March), domestic engineers and technicians have managed to overhaul 22 offshore platforms in the South Pars, independent of foreign companies and depending solely on domestic capabilities and potential.
Annual overhauls are undertaken to ensure sustainable gas supply in different seasons, particularly in winter.
According to latest reports, natural gas production in South Pars will increase by 70 mcm per day before the calendar year is out.
Iran will produce at least 700 mcm of natural gas a day from South Pars by next March -- up 11% compared to the current 630 mcm/d output.
More than $72 billion has been spent on the SP fields since work started.
Global Demand
According to the International Energy Agency, global gas demand is expected to grow at a rate of 1.6% a year until 2024, fueled by Chinese consumption which will account for over a third of the demand growth.
The Asia-Pacific region will remain the largest source of gas consumption growth in the medium term with an average rate of 4% per year, and will account for 60% of the total consumption increase until 2024.
Domestic demand in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa, will contribute to the growth in demand, the IEA said in its annual gas market report.
Gas demand in Europe will benefit from the shutdown of coal and nuclear power plants, but gains would be limited by the expansion of renewables and lower demand for heating, it said.
The industrial sector is expected to be a strong source of growth, accounting for almost half of the global increase, replacing power generation as the main growth driver.
In the LNG market, trade is expected to reach 546 bcm by 2024 from 432 bcm in 2018. China will become the largest LNG importer by 2024 at 109 bcm, ahead of Japan.