Ilam Refinery to Supply Gas to Iraq, Western Iranian Provinces
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran plans to turn Ilam Gas Refinery, in a western province of the same name, to a main gas supplier to Iraq and its neighboring Iranian provinces, an energy official said.
Managing-Director of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hamid-Reza Araqi said during his Monday visit that Ilam Refinery is producing two billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year, and that part of the refined natural gas is to be exported to Iraq.
The official said the refinery is processing seven million cubic meters a day of gas, adding that Ilam Refinery is a good source of gas supply to Ilam province and the neighboring provinces.
“This gas refinery was established thanks to the discovered and proven gas reservoirs in Ilam province,” said Araqi.
He also said that new seismic testing is underway in Ilam province to discover new natural gas reserves.
Iran and Iraq have signed an agreement for the construction of a pipeline that will carry natural gas from Iran to feed power plants in the southern Iraqi province of Basra.
Basra Governor Majeed al-Nasrawi stated on October 8 that the pipeline project, which is expected to come on stream by next summer, has been awarded to an Iranian company.
On July 21, Iran signed an agreement with Iraq to deliver natural gas to its western neighbor.
Based on the agreement, 25 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas will be delivered to Sadr, Baghdad and al-Mansouryah power plants through pipeline.
The 270-kilometer pipeline is estimated to earn Iran $3.7 billion a year in revenue.
Iran, which according to latest estimates by BP sits on the world's largest natural gas reserves, has been trying to enhance its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investment, especially in its South Pars Gas Field.
The South Pars gas field, divided into 28 phases, is located in the Persian Gulf on the common border between Iran and Qatar. It is estimated that the field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of condensate.
In its Statistical Review of World Energy released in June, BP classed Iran as the world’s top gas reserves holder with 33.6 trillion cubic meters. The company downgraded Russia’s reserves estimate to 32.9 trillion cubic meters from 44.6 trillion cubic meters in last year's report,
According to BP estimates, Iran has the third largest crude oil reserves after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.
