Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug. 8 /Trend S.Isayev/
If there is a move towards imposing sanctions on gas exports from Iran, this would be more costly to Europe, which has had extensive gas dealing with Iran, and has been more dependent on Iranian oil, EU economic advisor Mehrdad Emadi told Trend.
Iran holds first place among natural gas producing countries in the region, followed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Iran's natural gas production (excluding gas flares or recycled gas) has increased in 2011 by 5,6 percent compared to 2010, according to BP's June 2012 World Energy review report.
Emadi noted that if there is a move to impose such sanctions by the U.S., it has to be supported by the EU, for them to be meaningful.
He admitted, that at this stage, there has been little indication for such intention to impose sanctions on gas, yet it still might happen.
"At this stage there are no indications so far that exports of gas are targeted but this does not mean that we may not see their introduction in the coming month," Emadi noted.
Advisor said that a close examination of the direction of sanctions and their ever rising reach does not provide a promising horizon for the gas industry.
In 2010 Iran's natural gas production was estimated at 146,2 bcm, and this figure reached 151,8 bcm in 2011.
Currently Iran produces around 620 million c/m of gas daily.
During the 5-year development plan, Iran must export around 200 million cubic meters of gas to Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and UAE, according to Fars. The Islamic republic has also signed contracts to export its gas to Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
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