Latest official reports show that Iran consumed 157.5 billon cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas during the last 11 months in the housing, industrial and power plants sectors, indicating a 17.16 bcm increase year-to-year.
The figures for 1.5 months and 10 months of the current fiscal year were about 148.5 bcm and 138 bcm.
Iran’s fiscal year starts on March 21, based on a solar calendar, coinciding with the beginning of spring. Accordingly, the monthly gas consumption during 10 months was 451 million cubic meters per day, (mcm/d) while this figure for first half of 11th month reached 479 mcm/d. This is while the gas consumption during 24 hours of Feb.22 reached 621 mcm/d. If the average daily consumption continues at yesterday’s pace, it’s expected that the country’s gas consumption will reach 173.6 bcm per annum, about 17.4 bcm more than the previous year.
Naser Ebrahimi, Director of Gas Distribution Department of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) told Shana that the country’s gas consumption (excluding the re-ejected gas to oil fields, flaring, etc) reached 157.5 bcm during the 339 days of the current fiscal year (11 months).
| Gas consumption | 11 months (mcm/d) | 11 months of last year(mcm/d) | 10.5 months
(mcm/d) |
10.5 months of last year (mcm/d) |
| Housing sector | 237.5 | 235.6 | 231 | 226 |
| Industry sector | 88.4 | 79.6 | 88.5 | 80.7 |
| Power plants | 138.4 | 100 | 140.9 | 103 |
| Total | 464.3 | 415.2 | 460.4 | 409.7 |
Iran’s gas consumption triples in the winter months, compared to warmer months. For instance the National Iranian Gas Company spokesman Majid Bujarzadeh said on Jan.14 that the gas usage level reached 602 mcm/d, including 413 mcm/d of gas delivery to the housing sector, almost two times more than the average volume in the first 10 months.
On the other hand, Iran’s gas consumption on Feb.22 reached 621 mcm/d, including 445 mcm/d in the housing sector, 81 mcm/d in electricity generation sector and 95 mcm/d in the industrial sector.
The figures indicate a 100 mcm/d increase in housing gas consumption year-to-year.
According to the latest statistics, Iran is producing 666 mcm/d of raw gas, imports 7.5 bcm/a of gas from Turkmenistan, and exports 10 bcm/a to Turkey.
Since fall, Iran has re-extracted 19.8 mcm/d from gas storage facilities.
The average raw gas production during the 2014 was 637 mcm/d, indicates a 90-mcm/d increase year-to-year, mostly since summer. In Iranian fiscal year, the country’s raw gas production level increased by 100 mcm/d to 666 mcm/d.
During last winter Iran faced a 160 mcm/d of gas shortage, which led to stopping gas supplement to petrochemical plants, power plants and industrial units. During the current year, Iran increased the production level significantly, but not at a level that could stop the gas shortage completely. The figures shows that Iran has decreased delivering gas to power plants and industrial sector since fall, compared to the warm months.
Iran also needs to re-inject 290 mcm/d of gas to its oil fields to decelerate the pace of natural production decline, which lose 8 to 13 percent of their production capacity each year. Reportedly Iran re-injected 77 to 90 mcm/d of enriched gas to old oil fields during last year. These fields share above 80 percent of the country’s total oil production.
Iran is to increase gas production by 100 mcm/d in the next fiscal year, but regarding the current shortage, its gas output doesn’t meet the domestic production level again. For next year, Iran also plans to start delivering 5 mcm/d of gas to Iraq (Baghdad) and the volume will increase to 25 mcm/d in future. Iran also has another contract with Iraq (Basrah) to deliver 35 mcm/d of gas, but piping the route is not expected to complete by the end of next year.
Dalga Khatinoglu is an expert on Iran’s energy sector,
head of Trend Agency’s Iran news service
