Gas is to be supplied to 2.3 million households over the next three years at a cost of $2.5 billion dollars, planning director of the National Iranian Gas Company, Hassan Montazer Torbati said Monday.
Supplying gas to the households would help save three billion liters of kerosene and 1.5 million liters of liquefied gas per annum, Shana news agency reported. Replacing such fuels with gas would also save $2.5 billion annually.
The funding is to be allocated through Note 2(G) of the budget law, which allows the oil ministry to invest up to $100 billion in oil and gas projects. The project was approved by the parliament's economic committee.
Part of the fund is to be allocated from resources obtained through conservation of liquefied fuels, and also through private sector cooperation. The project is deemed economically viable as the investment is to be reimbursed through sales of such fuels.
The underprivileged households are mainly in East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Kerman, and Fars Provinces.
A recent legislation passed by the Parliament's Integration Committee obliges the oil ministry to allocate up to 50 trillion rials ($1.4 billion) from the export and import balance for development of refineries as well as natural gas pipelines, with the priority having been given to export pipelines.
Currently 63 million people, or 84 percent of the population, have access to natural gas. The figure is expected to reach 71 million or 94.5 percent by March 2018.
