Operations to replace the first Iran Gas Trunkline (IGAT-1) with a new pipeline has registered 80% progress, managing director of the state-run Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Gas Company, said.
“IGAT-1 is over 50 years old and is being replaced with a new pipeline,” Reza Noshadi was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news portal.
The first part of IGAT-1 extends from Lakan, a village in Lakan rural district, in Rasht County to Chelevand rural district, Astara County in Gilan Province.
Noshadi said pipe-laying operations of Rasht-Chelevand, a 42-inch 152-km pipeline, has made 80% progress and is expected to become operational in October.
According to the official, when the project is complete, the pipeline will be connected to another 30-inch pipe to stabilize natural gas supply to Ardabil 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-1, 42 inches in diameter, was constructed between Bidboland Refinery in Khuzestan Province and the port of Astara in the northern Gilan Province and it has been working since 1970.
IGAT-2 connects Fajr Refinery in Bushehr Province and Qazvin Province in the north.
IGAT-3 extends from Asalouyeh to Markazi Province and ultimately reaches Gilan Province.
Stretching over 1,145 kilometers, IGAT-4 with a capacity of 110 mcm/d, transfers gas produced in South Pars phases 1 to 5 in Asalouyeh to Fars and Isfahan provinces.
IGAT-5 transfers sour gas produced in South Pars phases 6, 7 and 8 to Khuzestan Province for injection into oil wells to boost extraction.
IGAT-6 transfers gas from South Pars to southern and western regions, namely Hamedan and Kermanshah provinces.
IGAT-7 stretches 900 km between Asalouyeh and Iranshahr in Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
The 56-inch-diameter IGAT-8, stretching over 1,000 km, transfers 110 mcm of gas from South Pars to the central parts of the country on a daily basis.
Storage Facilities
To ensure stable gas supply, IGEDC is building seven gas storage facilities across the country, Noshadi said.
“Upon completion over the next three years, NIGC’s gas storage capacity will reach 250 million cubic meters, accounting for 25% of Iran’s daily output,” he added.
Giving a breakdown on the venture, he noted that the Shourijeh facility in the northeastern Khorasan Razavi Province, Sarajeh reservoir near the city of Qom, Kashan salt dome in Isfahan Province, Varamin Yortesha water storage facility near Tehran, Bankol gas field in Ilam Province, Mokhtari gas field in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province and Qezeltappeh gas field in Golestan Province are being developed with the help of domestic contractors.
Noshadi said MAPNA Group has been tasked with the development of Shourijeh facility.
“The total capacity of Shourijeh facility, which currently stands at 2.25 billion cubic meters per day, is planned to reach 4.5 bcm per day,” he added.
To supply gas in the north and northeast parts in the cold seasons when consumption rises to a great extent and production declines in the Mozdouran reservoir by 2025, the development project has been planned to increase the capacity of Shourijeh facility, which is the main feedstock supplier of Khangiran Refinery in Sarakhs County, Khorasan Razavi Province.
MAPNA engineering group is expected to complete the project within three years. The project includes drilling 28 production/injection wells, construction of wellhead facilities and pipelines, building a gas collection and distribution center, construction of gas injection facilities with a capacity of 20 million cubic meters per day and building refinery facilities for gas processing with a capacity of 10 mcm per day.
The engineering group is involved in a range of projects, including oil and gas field development, onshore and offshore drilling services, construction of downstream processing units, auxiliary facilities, utility and storage tanks, as well as the design and manufacture of equipment such as turbo-compressors for pipelines, refineries and processing units.
Viability Studies
IGEDC is also conducting viability studies to build new reservoirs in other areas, namely Babaqir gas field in Ilam Province, Viznehar and Haloush gas fields in Lorestan Province, Nader hydrocarbon reservoir in Bushehr Province and Sarkhoun gas field in Hormozgan Province.
Most oil reservoirs are not suitable for storing gas and this explains why research on other reserves, whose geological formations are made up of salt and water, is on the IGEDC agenda.
The construction of new gas reservoirs is a priority for the Oil Ministry.
Noshadi noted that gas production has increased from 7 mcm per day to 870 mcm per day in the past four decades.
Speaking about gas transmission lines, he said the construction of 1,870 kilometers of large-sized pipes is also on the agenda of IGEDC.
Iran plans to increase its gas output capacity to meet the increasing demand of all sectors.
