The project to connect Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf to the national gas grid has registered 40% progress, the project manager said.
“A 13-km pipeline will branch off the seventh pipeline of Iran Gas Trunkline [IGAT 7 to supply gas to the industrial town on the island as well as other industries. A 58-km pipeline transfers gas from Bandar Abbas to Gurzin, a village on the island,” Ehsan Seyyedabadi was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
“The project comprises the longest underwater gas pipeline in the Middle East and is carried out by the Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company,” he added.
Of the 58-km pipeline, 3,000 meters will be laid on the Persian Gulf seabed with the horizontal drilling method.
HDD is a construction technique whereby a tunnel is drilled under a waterway or other designated areas, and a pipeline is pulled through the drilled underground tunnel.
The project manager said the advanced HDD technology has been used in a few countries and the Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company intends to employ the same by relying on the expertise of capable domestic companies.
“Supplying gas to the island will help develop the industrial town, Qeshm Power Plant and the existing and future factories and industries,” he added.
Pipe-laying operations are currently underway to link the Persian Gulf’s largest Island to the gas network.
The pipeline from Bandar Abbas to Qeshm in Hormozgan Province will transfer 25 million cubic meters of natural gas to the island per day to be used as feedstock in the Qeshm Power Plant and petrochemical plants under construction.
The pipeline from Bandar Abbas to Qeshm in Hormozgan Province will transfer 25 million cubic meters of natural gas to the island per day to be used as feedstock in the Qeshm Power Plant and petrochemical plants under construction
The feedstock will be sufficient to feed four petrochemical plants that have registered a work-in-progress rate of over 50%. Upon completion, the complexes will annually produce 6 million tons of value-added products.
The existence of hydrocarbons, the strategic Strait of Hormuz, proximity to the Oman Sea, connection to national electricity network and access to Central Asian markets are among advantages of Qeshm that reinforce its strategic location as a hub for oil, gas and petrochemical exports.
The Bandar Abbas-Qeshm pipeline is an extension of the IGAT-7 that starts in Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province, and pumps gas from the giant South Pars field in the Persian Gulf to eastern regions, including Zahedan in southeast Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
IGAT is a series of nine large diameter pipelines built to supply gas from refineries in the south (Khuzestan and Bushehr provinces) across the country. IGAT-7 stretches over 900 km between Asalouyeh and Iranshahr in Sistan-Baluchestan.
The island’s sole combined cycle power plant has two operating gas units, but the third cannot go on stream unless the gas pipeline project is completed.
With a 170-MW capacity, the second gas unit was launched last year. The first 340 MW unit started work two years ago.
Qeshm Island is a key destination in southern Iran and draws tourists to its wide range of ecotourism attractions such as the Hara Marine Forests, geological formations and sandy beaches. The island is developing its industrial prowess while preserving its age-old traditions.
The National Iranian Gas Company produces close to 1 billion cubic meters per day that are mostly used to meet domestic demand.
NIGC has managed to substantially raise gas production, especially from the giant South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf to meet the growing needs of households, power plants and other industries.
While average global gas consumption has risen by 2% in the past three decades, demand in Iran has hiked by a massive 4% during the same period.
