Gas supply projects are underway in the southeast regions, managing director of Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company, a subsidiary of National Iranian Gas Company said.
“Expanding the gas grid in the Sistan-Baluchestan Province, including supply to 30 towns and villages, Chabahar and Konarak thermal power plants, Khash and Zabol cement factories, as well as other small and large industries are programmed for this year (began in March),” the Oil Ministry news agency Shana quoted Bahram Salavati as saying.
The projects include laying a 220-kim pipeline from Zahedan to Zabol and a 300 km line from Iranshahr to Chabahar, as well as pipe-laying projects in Khash, Mirjavah and Saravan in the east of the province.
In sum, 600 km of network are currently under construction.
The pipeline supplying gas to Sistan-Baluchestan is an extension of Iran Gas Trunkline 7 from Asalouyeh in Bushehr Province pumping from the giant South Pars field in the Persian Gulf.
Besides expanding the urban gas network, linking power plants to the national grid is also underway to curb consumption of liquid fuel and improve air quality
South Pars is the world's largest gas field shared between Iran and Qatar, covering an area of 3,700 square kilometers of Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.
Besides expanding the urban gas network, the connection of power plants to national grid is also underway to curb consumption of liquid fuel and improve air quality.
So far 82 factories and industrial units in the province have been linked to the gas network, and more will be connected this year.
“In addition to these projects, over 650 km of transmission and distribution network has been defined for the province, which is the final designing phase,” Salavati said, noting that on completion in two years, the remaining cities and industries of the province will have access to natural gas.
Sistan-Baluchestan is the second largest province but one of the poorest of the 31 provinces. The underdeveloped area is the only region partially deprived of piped gas.
Completion of the gas grid in the southeastern regions would be a great boost to Chabahar Port, Iran’s largest ocean port. Chabahar City is officially designated as a free trade and industrial zone by the government.
A 300 kilometer pipeline is being laid to link the city to Iranshahr City in the center of Sistan-Baluchestan.
National Status
NIGC data show that 98% of the urban population has access to piped gas. Close to 80% of the rural population is linked to the national distribution network including over 390,000 km of transmission and distribution pipelines.
Over 1,100 cities, 24,000 towns and 27,000 villages are linked to the expanding grid. The government plans to link all urban areas and 90% of the suburban population to the gas grid by 2022.
Iran holds the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia. According to BP Statistical Review of World Energy, Iran holds as much as 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas that is 18% of the world’s proven reserves. Iran’s daily gas output has reached 850 million cubic meters.
It also is the world’s fourth largest gas consumer, which shows heavy reliance on hydrocarbons and inadequacy in developing clean energy.
