TEHRAN- National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Managing Director Hamid Araqi announced that the country’s gas export has hit 42 million cubic meters (mcm) per day, Shana reported on Tuesday.

The official said Iran reached this amount of gas export after starting export to Iraq (in late June).

Referring to the NIGC’s plans for the next Iranian calendar year (to begin on March 21, 2018), Araqi said exports to the neighboring countries will continue based on their contracts , while the amount of gas export and also target countries are planned to increase.
 
Iranian Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs and Trading Amir-Hossein Zamaninia told IRNA in early July that neighboring countries and India are Iran’s top priority for gas exports and Europe is not one for now.

The deputy minister believes that since Europe receives gas even more than its demand, so for the time being it is not considered a good market for Iran.

“Of course as the country with the most natural gas reserves in the worlds we should have a long term plan for gaining some share in Europe’s market,” Zamaninia noted.

Iran has the world’s largest natural gas reserves holding around 18 percent of total proven natural gas reserves globally, according to British Petroleum's (BP) Statistical Review of World Energy 2017 report.

MA/MG