After supplying gas to the cities of Zabol and Khash in Sistan-Baluchestan Province in the past few months, the third largest gas project in the vast province will become operational soon with the completion of the 290km Iranshahr-Chabahar-Konarak gas pipeline, managing director of Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company said.
“The project is to supply gas to the southern regions of the province and coasts stretching along the Sea of Oman,” Reza Noshadi was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry news service Shana.
“This strategic project, in addition to providing the energy needed by petrochemical units and power plants in the region, helps with the sustainable development in the southeast of Iran, and improve economic, industrial and tourism activities in the underprivileged province,” he added.
The construction of the pipeline to transfer natural gas from Iranshahr to Chabahar is in its final stages and will be completed in the next two months. It has been done with an investment of about $427 million.
Afterwards, the gas will be provided for all the regions of Chabahar in two phases. In the first phase includes laying 250 kilometers of transmission lines, which will be implemented with a credit of $12.5 million and in the second phase, 350 km of pipelines will be laid at a cost of $15 million.
Iranshahr was the first county in the province, which was partly connected to the gas grid. From there, a 262-km pipeline supplies gas to Zahedan, the provincial capital bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The pipeline is an extension of Iran Gas Trunkline 7 (IGAT-7) that stretches over 900 km between Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province, and Iranshahr, Sistan-Baluchestan.
Gas supply to the port city of Chabahar on Makran (also Mokran) coasts will contribute to the region’s prosperity, especially in the industrial sector.
So far, over 100 factories and industrial units in the province have been linked to the gas network and 200 more will be connected soon. Natural gas as a clean fuel is gradually replacing polluting liquid fuels such as diesel and mazut in industries across the country.
