Iran welcomes Russia in Europe gas transfer plan

Iran welcomes Russian participation in the $2.5 billion construction of a pipeline to transfer Iranian gas to Europe, a deputy oil minister says.

Russian companies have indicated interest in Iran’s gas development projects, with state-run Gazprom recently signing a letter of intent with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC).

“We are welcoming Russians’ participation in the project to build Iran’s IGAT-9 (Iran Gas Trunk-line) with $2.5 billion of investment,” Deputy Minister of Petroleum Hamid Reza Araqi said in remarks published by the Mehr news agency on Monday.

Araqi said Iran has raised gas production to about 700 million cubic meters per day, adding this capacity is expected to pass 1 billion cubic meters next year when new South Pars phases become operational.

“In tandem with the rise in production capacity, the country’s capacity for storage and transportation of gas must also increase,” he said.

Araqi touched on plans to build more high-pressure gas pipelines and gas compressor stations, including the 1,900-kilometer trunk line to carry about 110 million cubic meters of gas per day from southern Iran to the country’s north for exports to Europe.

“The Russians can participate in the construction of this pipeline but NIGC’s priority is to hold international tenders for the project,” he added.

SS