TEHRAN - Iran will export up to $2 billion of electricity to the UAE, Qatar and Oman via subsea cables, Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad has said.

 

Last week, Iran Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) struck a $3.8 billion deal with Iran’s Power Projects Management Company (MAPNA) for the development of the Persian Gulf's Forouz B gas field and an associated gas-fired power project, of which most of the output will be exported to the Persian Gulf Arab states.

 

“The field will produce 3000 megawatts of electricity… which a little of it will be consumed at home and the rest will be exported to neighboring countries particularly (the United Arab) Emirates, Oman and Qatar,” Behzad told the Fars news agency.

 

The development plan, which is set for completion within five and a half years, aims to produce one billion cubic feet of gas, 10,000 barrels of condensates, and 3,000 megawatts per day of power in the first phase, MAPNA Managing Director Abbas Aliabadi told Shana news agency.

 

Aliabadi was quoted previously as saying that the project will export a percentage of the power to neighboring countries.

 

By the end of the fifth five-year economic development plan (2015), Iran will boost its electricity generation capacity by 25GW to reach 73GW, Energy Minister Majid Namjou said on February 7.

 

The country’s electricity exports will total $1 billion by the end of this current calendar year (March 19, 2012).

 

Iran currently trades power with Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.