Iran’s natural gas production, exports rise in 9 months
Iran’s natural gas production and exports rose 12 percent and 10 percent, respectively, during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21, 2014) compared to the same period of time last year, according to an official with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC).
The country produced and exported 158 billion cubic meters (bcm) and 8 bcm of natural gas, respectively, in the nine-month period, the Tasnim News Agency quoted Hassan Torbati, the planning director of NIGC, as saying on Monday.
On January 1, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the country plans to pump up natural gas production at South Pars gas field to 100 million cubic meters (mcm) per day by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2015).
He described the South Pars gas field as Iran’s biggest industrial hub, expressing hope the key phases of the massive offshore reservoir will come on stream soon.
South Pars 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.
The gas field is estimated to hold a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world’s reserves.
Iran is ranked first in the world in terms of natural gas reserves.
