Official: Iran To Gain $17bln Per Year From Gas Export To Iraq

Tehran, Dec 9, IRNA – Marketing Manager of National Iranian Gas Exports Company (NIGEC) Ali Amirani voiced his satisfaction with the revenues Iran gains from export of gas to the neighboring Iraq. “By exporting 90 million cubic meters of gas per day to Iraq, the country annually gains about $17 billion of revenues,” he said. Amirani pointed to finalization of Iran’s export of gas to Baghdad to the ceiling of 40 million cubic meters, and said, “The contract for export of gas to Basra will be finalized in the coming weeks and the volume of Iran’s export of gas to Iraq will increase to 90 million cubic meters.” Iran has basically agreed to pump 25 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) of natural gas to Iraq. Late in January, Iranian Oil Ministry Spokesman Alireza Nikzad Rahbar said the country would start exporting natural gas to Iraq by next summer. Nikzad Rahbar added that the Friendship Pipeline project under construction between Iran, Iraq and Syria, is the most important project currently pursued by the ministry. The pipeline will be designed in such a way that it will be able to deliver gas to other Muslim countries like Jordan and Lebanon in the future. The 56-inch pipeline will start from Assaluyeh, near the massive offshore South Pars Gas Field in southern Iran, and will continue into Iraq to feed three Iraqi power plants running on gas. Iran, which sits on the worlds second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, is making efforts to raise its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in South Pars gas field./end