TEHRAN- The capacity of gas reproduction from Sarajeh storage facility has risen 17 percent since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020), compared to the same period of time in the past year, according to an official with the Iranian Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC).

Ahmad Rajabi, the production director of the company, announced that 1,014 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas has been reproduced from the storage since the year start.

As the first natural gas storage facility in Iran and West Asia, Sarajeh storage facility was officially inaugurated in January 2014 near Qom, 124 kilometers south of Tehran.

Iran has two major natural gas storage facilities in Sarajeh and Shourijeh, in which every year the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) stores the gas received from gas refineries all over the country to be used in the colder months of the year.

Following the development of the South Pars gas field and the increase in the country’s gas production capacity, construction and development of the country’s natural gas storage facilities has become a top priority.

Reproduction from Sarajeh and Shourijeh storages increased by 33 percent in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19, 2020) compared to the preceding year, according to Ahmad Rajabi, director of technical affairs at the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC).

The mentioned storages supply gas to six northern and northeastern provinces that are far from the southern gas-rich regions, eliminating the need for importing gas from Turkmenistan.

As one of the world’s top gas producers, Iran is planning to expand its underground natural gas storage capacity to ensure that enough natural gas is available during peak demand periods to avoid electricity supply shortfalls in the future.

According to the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC)’s plans, the capacity of the two storage facilities, Sarajeh and Shourijeh, is planned to increase to over seven billion cubic meters in the future.

MA/MA