TEHRAN – Despite all the external challenges like the coronavirus pandemic and the U.S. sanctions, the Iranian gas industry is developing at a fast pace and the country is passing new milestones in this industry every day.

Various sectors of Iran’s gas industry including exploration, production, processing, and distribution are all among the world’s top charts and the country is taking new steps to develop the industry even further.

Among the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC)’s latest achievements the significant increase in the gas refining and processing capacity is one that has been under the spotlight in recent years.

With the new developments in the country’s giant South Pars gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, and the increase in the gas production from this field, the Oil Ministry has been taking serious measures for the development of the country’s gas refineries to process the extracted gas.

In line with the mentioned programs, this year, the daily processing capacity of Iranian gas refineries is planned to increase 10 percent following the inauguration of the processing units of phases 13, 22, and 24 of the South Pars field, an official with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said.

” With the gas sweetening units of phases 13, 22 and 24 of South Pars going operational, the gas processing capacity in this complex will increase by 10 percent,” Head of NIGC’s Production Coordination and Supervision Directorate Masoud Zardovian said.

According to the official, considering the mentioned increase, the country’s gas refining capacity will exceed one billion cubic meters per day.

The feedstock received by the refineries is almost the same as their processing capacity, he said.

Mentioning NIGC’s complete readiness for sustainable gas supply throughout the country during winter, Zardovian said “With the steps taken in the country's gas refining sector, we will have no problem regarding the production of natural gas in the winter.”

Noting that with the outbreak of the coronavirus in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 19), special conditions were considered for the annual overhaul of the country’s gas refineries, the official noted that due to the pandemic this year’s annual overhaul operations began with a month delay.

He further noted that considering the increase in both the production and processing capacities of the gas sector, this year Iran will be able to fulfill all its gas export obligations even during the cold season.

Back in December 2019, Zardovian had announced that the country’s daily gas processing capacity reached 900 million cubic meters.

Earlier this year, Head of National Iranian Gas Transmission Company (NIGTC) Mehdi Jamshidi Dana said that with the recent increases in South Pars gas field output and new lines and pressure boosting units going on stream in the national gas network, NIGTC is ready for sustainable gas supply during the cold season.

As Iran’s major natural gas reserve, the South Pars Gas Field, which the country shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, is currently divided into 24 standard phases on the Iranian side and is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.

EF/MA