The Damghan-Neka gas pipeline, the last segment of the North-Northeastern pipeline, will help Iran reduce its dependence on Turkmenistan gas imports, Hassan Paivan, operator of the Iran Gas Trunkline at the National Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company said on Monday.
"The 170 km project has made 35% physical progress and is due to go on stream in 2016," he said, adding that the new pipeline would not only underpin gas supply stability in the northern and northeastern provinces, but also put an end to gas import from neighboring Turkmenistan, Mehr news agency reported.
Highlighting the inhospitable mountainous terrain from which the pipeline passes, the operator reiterated that a 150-km conduit should be dug out of which 80-km is already in place and pipes are being laid. The whole project is projected to cost $20 million.
Iran and Turkmenistan signed a long-term agreement according to which the latter was committed to supplying 40 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. However, the Turkmens reneged on their commitment forcing Tehran to cut imports from the Central Asian state and expanding the North-Northeastern gas trunk up to Neka in Mazandaran Province, as well as developing the Shahid Hasheminejad gas refinery in Sarakhs County.
The North-Northeastern pipeline stretches over 1000 km. With a 48-inch diameter, the pipeline transports gas from the key South Pars field in the Persian Gulf to the northern regions.
The Dauletabad–Sarakhs–Khangiran pipeline is a natural gas pipeline from the Dauletabad gas field in Turkmenistan to Khangiran, a rural district in Sarakhs County in Khorasan Razavi Province, in Iran, where it connects with the Iran Gas Trunkline. For Iran, the pipeline allows the country to deal with gas shortages in its northern regions and improve its standing as a reliable trade partner in the Caspian region. Gas started flowing from the pipeline in January 2010.
The Iran Gas Trunkline (IGAT) is a series of large diameter pipelines passing from major energy producing areas in the south of Iran (Khuzestan and Bushehr provinces) that move natural gas to the northern regions.
