NIGC Talking Gas Swap

National Iranian Gas Company is discussing gas swap deals with neighboring countries as Iran continues to assert itself in the global gas market.

"Plans call for signing new natural gas swap agreements in the near future," Hamidreza Araqi, managing director of NIGC, said Monday, Shana reported.

Araqi said Iran is ready to start swapping around 300 million cubic meters of natural gas per day from Russia in the north and deliver gas at the southern terminals in the Persian Gulf.

"Russia, Turkmenistan and other gas-rich countries in the north consider Iran as a safe route for swapping their natural gas," he said, stressing that Iran has the infrastructure to swap Russian gas.

According to the official, Iran should take advantage of its geographical proximity in the region. In other words, it should not miss the opportunity to swap energy with its neighbors.

On NIGC's megaproject to transfer gas from the south to the north of Iran via pipeline, he noted that the measure requires an estimated $340 million in investment with returns in two years after completion of the venture.   

According to officials, developing and expanding the gas networks is high on the agenda. During the past three years, 85% of rural areas were linked to the national gas grid.

Plans call for extending the network to 70 towns and 8,000 villages, especially in the deprived regions in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province.