Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 27
By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:
An Iranian top official says the country's gas output would reach 1 billion cubic meters per day by 2018 and the European countries are keen to import Iranian gas after elimination of sanctions against Iran.
The head of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hamid-Reza Araqi, said that EU, neighbors and other countries are looking forward to receiving Iranian gas.
He said that Iran, EU hasn't negotiated gas deal yet.
South Pars, divided into 29 development phases, contains 40 trillion cubic meters (tcm) of natural gas. It covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers are situated in Qatar's territorial waters.
Iran increased gas export by 1 bcm/a during last fiscal year to 9.7 bcm.
Iran is to start 5 to 7 mcm/d of gas export to Iran during next month as well. The volume would increase to 25 mcm/d in coming years.
Iran's Outlook Plan Document has envisaged exporting gas to Europe. At present, Iran has obligation to export 52 bcm/a of gas based on signed memorandum of understandings (MoU) and agreements to Iraq, Oman, Pakistan and Turkey, but it has realized only exporting 10 bcm/a to Turkey currently.
Europe is planning to lessen by 25 percent its dependence on Russian gas by 2020.
Plans are to export some 16 bcm/a of Azerbaijan's gas produced in Shah Deniz Stage 2 to Turkey and Europe in 2019 through the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
The head of Communications at TAP Lisa Givert told Trend on April 7 that this project is open to addition of new shareholders. Givert was commenting on the possible interest from Iran in acquiring a share in TAP project following the removal of sanctions imposed on the country over its disputed nuclear program.
On the other hand, the president of Azerbaijan's State Oil Company Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters April 4 that Iran is interested in purchasing a stake in the TANAP.
