Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.8
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Supply of gas to CNG stations in Iran was rationed because cold weather has surged gas consumption by households, the Mehr News agency quoted the head of the union of CNG station operators Ardeshir Dadras as saying on February 8.
According to an agreement with the National Iranian Gas Company, it was decided to cut supply of gas to CNG station for 15-20 nights in order to secure gas supply to households, Dadras said.
However, some of the CNG operators are disinclined to work because the job is not economically justified in their opinion, he added.
On Jan. 1, spokesman for the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Majid Boujarzadeh said that 50 percent of the CNG stations in Tehran were closed due to shortages.
Earlier Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Hamidreza Araqi urged households to economise on consumption of natural gas.
"If consumption is not limited, gas supplies to power plants, industrial units and households will be reduced," Araqi said, the Mehr news agency reported on Dec. 13.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Nov. 29 that the coming winter will be the hardest in the country's history in terms of gas shortage.
The Mehr News Agency previously reported that based on data collected by Iran's Oil Ministry, the country needs over 700 million cubic meters of gas per day in the coming winter.
According to the report released in March 2013, Iran's overall natural gas consumption is expected to grow around seven percent annually for the next decade.
Iran has 33.6 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves.
