Gas supply across Iran had an increase of 2.8% in the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2021-Jan. 20) compared with the same period of last year, managing director of Iranian Gas Transmission Company said.
“A total of 219 billion cubic meters of gas were delivered in the 10-month period, which is 6 bcm higher than last year when the figure was 213 bcm,” the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana also quoted Mehdi Jamshidi-Dana as saying.
“This year, a record was set in the daily gas transportation in the country, as more than 851 million cubic meters were transferred on Jan. 6,” he added.
Referring to the repairs and maintenance of pipelines and facilities, he said 2,711 km of intelligent pigging, 3,320 km of cleaning pigging and 36,363 km of leakage detection as well as repairs of more than 150 types of compressors have been done so far this year.
In pipeline transportation, pigging is the practice of using pipeline inspection gauges or gadgets, which devices are referred to as pigs or scrapers, to perform various maintenance operations. This is done without stopping the flow of the product in the pipeline.
Intelligent pigging is an inspection technique whereby an inspection probe, often referred to as "smart" pig, is propelled through a pipeline while gathering important data, such as the presence and location of corrosion or other irregularities on the inner walls of the pipe.
Cleaning pigs are used for aggressive cleaning of the internal diameter of pipelines.
“Continuous monitoring and repairs are carried out so that gas supply could continue without interruption,” Jamshidi-Dana said.
Speaking about the length of the country's gas transmission lines, the IGTC chief said there are now 37,885 km of pipelines, 88 gas pressure boosting facilities and 326 compressor units, including turbo compressors, electric compressors and compressor motors, across the country.
Expansion of Network
Natural gas pipe-laying operations are still underway nationwide to connect far-flung small towns to the national grid.
The country’s gas pipeline network will be extended by 1,700 kilometers by the end of March, after development projects are completed in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad, Khuzestan, Gilan, Hormozgan and Qom provinces.
Supplying gas to underprivileged areas is on the agenda of the National Iranian Gas Company and the gas network will cover more subscribers in remote rural regions.
Currently, some 36,000 villages — comprising 85% of rural areas — have access to natural gas and 6,000 more will be added within a year. The expansion of the national gas grid has been made possible because of the rise in gas production.
Domestic gas output has surpassed 1 billion cubic meters per day, a major part of which comes from the giant South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf.
The national gas network has the capacity to supply 1 billion cubic meters of gas per day to households, industries and power plants.
Iran has abundant hydrocarbon resources. It held 32 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves as of 2019, ranking second in the world and accounting for about 16% of the total global natural gas reserves, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020.
Source of Cheap Energy
Located along the International North-South Transport Corridor and having access to high seas, Europe through Turkey and Central Asia, Iran can also be a source of cheap energy.
The country is currently exporting gas to neighboring countries, including Turkey and Iraq, and can be a reliable supplier to Europe as well as the rest of the world in the long run.
Last month, President Ebrahim Raisi declared Iran’s readiness to supply natural gas to the world, including Europe. He was addressing the sixth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Qatar’s capital Doha.
Raisi said Iran, as one of the world’s biggest holders of natural gas reserves, has the capacity to supply it to the world and called on the international community to support initiatives aimed at ensuring the security of the global energy market.
The president said Iran had been able to boost its natural gas production and carry out significant projects in the oil and gas sectors by banking on domestic expertise and resources.
Oil Minister Javad Owji also said that despite high domestic consumption, many of the country's gas fields remain intact and new fields have also been discovered in recent years.
According to Owji, many treaties are under preparation with gas exporting countries for the development of oil and gas fields, the reconstruction of oil and gas refineries, and the transfer of technical and engineering services.
