Over 156 billion cubic meters of natural gas were supplied through the national gas network in nine months, the National Iranian Gas Transmission Company said on Monday.
The state-owned company transferred 156.3 billion cubic meters of gas between March 21 and Dec. 21, Shana, the Oil Ministry’s official news agency, reported.
On a daily average, 566.4 million cubic meters of gas ran through the country's expansive pipelines across 36,000 kilometers, marking a 7% increase compared with the corresponding period of the fiscal 2016-17.
A record amount of 746 million cubic meters of gas were transferred domestically on Dec. 14, topping the previous high of 712 mcm on February 8. Iran plans to expand its network of gas pipelines to 45,000 kilometers in eight years, the managing director of NIGTC said recently.
“By 2025, the length of Iran’s gas pipelines should increase by 9,000 km and the annual gas transfer capacity is planned to reach 400 billion cubic meters from 240 billion cubic meters at present,” Saeed Tavakkoli added.
He stressed that Iran's gas network has the capacity to transport 800 mcm/d of gas, adding that the current infrastructure allows for the supply of up to 40 mcm/d of gas to Turkey and 25 mcm/d to Iraq. The Sixth Iran Gas Trunkline, an important stretch of the national gas grid, is expected to go on stream by the end of this month, raising gas supply capacity by 70-80 million cubic meters per day.
The pipeline is designed to transfer fossil fuel from South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf to southern and western regions, namely Hamedan and Kermanshah provinces.
Iran (34 tcm) and Russia (32.6 tcm) hold the largest proven gas reserves, according to BP Statistical Review of World Energy. The US Energy Information Association places Russia ahead of Iran with an estimated reserves of 49 tcm.
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