Iran has the capacity, ability and infrastructure to play a bigger role in regional and global natural gas markets.
Hamidreza Araqi, the head of National Iranian Gas Company, made the statement at the 2018 Energy Efficiency and Energy Development International Forum in Moscow, Shana reported on Thursday.
"Expanding our footprint in the Middle East energy markets is a major priority," he said, noting that the company wants to diversify its gas exports and Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Georgia could be among top target markets
Pointing to 56 gas fields with total in-place reserves of 33.7 trillion cubic meters, of which 40 fields remain undeveloped, Araqi said, "Our production level at 850 million cubic meters per day, is reflective of the fact that we have what is required to play an effective role in the global natural gas market."
According to the official, Iran currently exports natural gas via pipelines to four neighbors, namely Turkey, Iraq, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The first two receive more than 90% of the gas export under a long-term contract, and two latter countries receive an estimated 6% and 3% under swap agreements.
Referring to growing global concerns about environmental degradation issues, he noted that natural gas consumption will see a huge increase by 2030.
Natural gas will account for a major part of the energy mix across continents because it has a clear advantage in terms of pollution and production costs.
According to Araqi, natural gas demand will be strong and is expected to be around 33% higher than 2016 levels by 2030 while demand for coal and oil will grow much slower due to more stringent environmental laws in many developed countries.
Experts, including Araqi, believe that economic growth has pushed up the gas market in India, Japan and South Korea. Economic recovery and higher heating demand has given a boost to Russian gas demand, which accounted for nearly ¼ of the additional demand worldwide.
Gas consumption has also continued to grow at a steady pace in the Middle-East, especially in Iran and Saudi Arabia, and in Africa, mainly in Egypt and in Nigeria.
The NIGC chief said Iran's national gas grid covers 100% of cities as well as 95% of towns and villages. Moreover, a large number of petrochemical factories and power plants have stopped using liquefied fuel and instead use natural gas as feedstock.
Natural gas prices are up about 12% over last month to roughly $3.16 per million British thermal unit. On Wednesday, prices hit a more-than-seven-month high, at $3.26 per mmBtu.
The goal of the Russian Energy Week Forum, 3–6 October, is to discuss the current global energy agenda, identify areas for the development of the main sectors of the fuel and energy industry, and search for optimal solutions to respond to existing challenges.
