Iran to boost gas exports to Iraq

A top Iranian energy official unveiled plans to increase natural gas exports to neighboring Iraq in 2018.

Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hamid Reza Araqi told Tasnim News Agency on Saturday that exports of natural gas to Iraq will rise during the spring and summer of 2018.

Iran’s gas exports to Iraq, which currently stand at 14 million cubic meters a day, are planned to reach the maximum capacity within three years, he added.

On June 22, at the beginning of summer, Iran began export natural gas to Iraq following years of negotiations and settlement of financial problems.

Iran’s gas exports to Iraq are to reach 35 million cubic meters per day in the final stage.

Tehran and Baghdad signed a deal on exports of natural gas from the giant South Pars Gas Field in south Iran in 2013.

Under the deal, the Iranian gas is delivered to Sadr, Baghdad and al-mansouryah power plants in Iraq through a 270-kilometer pipeline.

Exports to Armenia

Iran has bartered a total of 250 million cubic meters of natural gas with Armenia for electricity during March 21-November 21, 2017.

Tehran and Yerevan signed a gas-for-power barter deal in 2009. As per the contract, Iran exports an average of one million cubic meters of gas to Armenia per day. The country receives 3.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity from its northwestern neighbor in exchange for every cubic meter of gas it sends to it.

Speaking to Shana, Saeid Tavakkoli, managing director of Iranian Gas Transmission Company (IGTC), said in the year to mid-march 2017, Iran sent 365 million cubic meters of gas to Armenia based on the deal.

He said Iran has the capacity to export up to 2.3 billion cubic meters of gas to Armenia per annum.