TEHRAN - National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) has awarded the development project of Shourijeh gas storage facility in the northeastern Khorasan Razavi Province to an Iranian company based on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract, IRNA reported on Friday, quoting a senior gas official as saying.

According to the Head of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hassan Montazer Torbati, following the development of the South Pars gas field and the increase in the country’s gas production capacity, construction and development of the country’s natural gas storage facilities has become a top priority.

Montazer Torbati noted that with the new storage projects going operational, national gas network’s sustainability and resilience will be increased, especially in the cold seasons which are peak demand periods.

According to the official, currently seven projects for construction and development of natural gas storage facilities are underway in different provinces across the country.

He mentioned some of the projects saying, NIGC is going to hold a tender for awarding the second phase of Sarajeh storage facility.

As the first natural gas storage facility in Iran and the Middle East, Sarajeh storage facility was officially inaugurated in January 2014 near Qom, 124km south of Tehran. 
As one of the world’s top gas producers, Iran is planning to expand its underground natural gas storage capacity to ensure that enough natural gas is available during peak demand periods to avoid electricity supply shortfalls in the future.

According to NIGC plans, the capacity of the two storage facilities, Sarajeh and Shourijeh, is planned to increase to over seven billion cubic meters in near future.

EF/MA