"We export gas to Turkey, Iraq and Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. In the current situation, it is unlikely that we will be able export to Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. As such, using gas inside the country to make value-added products seems more economically feasible,” Hamid Hosseini was quoted as saying by ISNA.
"With prices India and Pakistan want, I do not think we can compete in their markets,” he said without providing details.
Regarding Afghanistan, Hosseini said: “There could be an opportunity to export gas to Afghanistan. However, the pipeline, which is being laid to supply gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan, has reached Herat, the third-largest city in Afghanistan. Turkmenistan intends to export gas from this line to Herat as well.”
He said gas can be combined with iron ore to produce steel, which is currently being done in the country. “Gas can also be converted into petrochemicals, cement, glass and electricity and other commodities that have high added value."
Emphasizing the fact that electricity can easily be exported, even those that are not willing to buy gas from Iran, Hosseini said, “Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey buy electricity from us. The cost of exporting electricity (infrastructure) is much lower than gas."
He pointed to the optimal use of gas in generating electricity for cryptocurrency mining.
“Due to the decrease in global gas prices, Iran can become an energy hub for digital currencies,” he noted.
Iranian natural gas exports to neighbors increased by 3.6 billion cubic meters last year (ended March 19), up 26% compared to the year before.
The surge in exports came despite the significant increase in domestic consumption. Total gas production in the previous year reached 270 billion cubic meters.
Iran holds the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia. According to BP Statistical Review of World Energy, Iran has 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves or 18% of the world’s proven reserves.
Domestic gas output has reached 1 billion cubic meters a day, a major part of which comes from the South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf.
South Pars is the world’s largest gas field near the joint border between Iran and Qatar, covering an area of 3,700 square kilometers of Iran's territorial waters off the Persian Gulf.
The field is estimated to contain a significant amounts of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.