Iran Press/ Iran news: According to the latest OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin (ASB), Chegeni said that Iran's natural gas exports reached 18.43 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2021 and further increased to 18.79 bcm in 2022, demonstrating a remarkable growth rate of over 60% compared to the figures in 2020.
Chegeni mentioned that these increases in gas exports occurred despite Iran facing a gas imbalance during winter 2021. He emphasized that Iran not only fulfilled its contractual obligations for gas exports but also boosted its annual volumes.
Regarding Europe's energy needs, Chegeni stated that European countries have discussed importing gas through Türkiye with Iran. However, he noted that these negotiations are ongoing and have not yet reached a conclusive agreement.
Chegeni, also the Managing Director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), added that the extension of the contract for exporting gas to Iraq will be finalized soon.
It has been reported that Turkey is expressing its willingness to extend its gas contract with Iran. In addition, discussions regarding gas exports to Oman, the revival of the contract with Pakistan, and trade with Russia are ongoing.
Furthermore, there has been a shift towards a gas swap deal with Turkmenistan. The CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) has stated that Iran's daily gas imports from Turkmenistan have increased from 4.5 million cubic meters per day to eight million cubic meters per day following the settlement of Iran's debt in three installments.
Moreover, Tehran and Yerevan have extended their agreement until 2030. Under this agreement, Iran will export more natural gas to Armenia in exchange for electricity.
This extension was formalized in a ceremony attended by various officials, including the CEO of NIGC, the Iranian Ambassador to Yerevan, the Yerevan Thermal Power Plant CEO, and Armenia's Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures.
The bartering ratio of gas with electricity has been amended in favor of NIGC under this extended deal, as Iran's deputy oil minister mentioned. The initial agreement for this new contract was reached during Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's visit to Tehran in November 2022 and was finalized on August 10.
It is worth noting that Iran's pipeline for exporting gas to Armenia has an annual transmission capacity exceeding one billion cubic meters (bcm).
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