TEHRAN – Head of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said Iran is seriously following up on exporting gas to Europe through Turkey, ILNA reported.

According to Hassan Montazer Torbati, Iran has all the necessary infrastructure for realizing this goal in case the political barriers are resolved and the European side is ready to cooperate.

“Negotiations have been held with European companies but we haven’t reached concrete results yet. Most of the private sector in Europe wants Iranian gas, and if that happens, it will be via Turkey,” he said.

The official noted that Greece would be the first destination for Iranian gas if the project goes operational.

“We have held talks with several Turkish companies for transiting our gas thought the country to Europe and for the time being Greece is more serious than other destinations,” Torbati added.

Considering recent increases in Iran’s natural gas production, the country has been reconsidering its plans for expanding destination markets for gas and oil products and exports to Europe once again has come under the spotlight.

Last month, NIGC Dispatching Director Mehdi Jamshidi Dana, said the country’s daily gas production has reached 810 million cubic meters (mcm).

In 2017, NIGC’s Managing Director at the time, Hamidreza Araqi, said Iran is in talks with European countries to export gas to Europe.

The official noted that sending Iranian gas to Europe is possible both through pipeline and in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“Various European companies expressed willingness in this regard but reaching a final deal generally takes near five years,” he said.

EF/MA