TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s natural gas exports increased by 3.6 billion cubic meters in the past Iranian year (ending March 19) registering a 26 percent rise year-on-year, said the managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC).
Referring to the gas industry’s record in terms of production, transmission, distribution and exports during the previous Iranian year, Hassan Montazer Torbati said that the increase in exports was realized despite the significant increase in domestic consumption, reported IRNA.
“Last year, cumulative consumption by domestic, commercial, and small industrial sectors increased by about 10 billion cubic meters, but despite new consumption records, the gas supply to urban and rural households was not interrupted while exports increased,” he said.
Noting that the total gas production in the previous year reached about 270 billion cubic meters, Torbati emphasized that considering the increase in both production and consumption of natural gas, the national network handled the transmission of the added output smoothly.
The NIGC head further noted that the coronavirus outbreak hasn’t had any negative impact on the company’s development projects and programs.
“With careful planning and with the implementation of all health protocols, the outbreak of the coronavirus did not disrupt the gas industry’s development process,” he said.
The western neighbors including Turkey and Iraq, are main destinations of Iran’s natural gas exports.
In May, Torbati said that the conditions governing Iran’s long-term gas contracts will probably undergo essential changes after the coronavirus pandemic.
The official told ILNA that Iran would introduce new pricing mechanisms in gas export deals in the future, without elaborating on how they would work.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
