TEHRAN – Head of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Dispatching Department has said the company has managed to store four billion cubic meters of natural gas in the country’s Sarajeh and Shourijeh storages to be fully prepared for sustainable gas supply during the cold season.

According to Mohammadreza Jolaei, NIGC has made the necessary preparations in three major phases including production, transmission, and distribution sectors for the winter, IRIB reported.

The official noted that the natural gas consumption in the country has increased by 20 percent in the first half of the current Iranian calendar month (March 21- September 22) compared to the previous year’s same period with the early drop in temperature.

He put the consumption by the country’s power plants at 240 million cubic meters and said this figure is the highest level of consumption in power plants.

“The consumption of major industries in the same period reached 140 million cubic meters while domestic consumption was 220 million cubic meters, and so far, we have not faced any restrictions in providing gas to these sectors,” he added.

Mentioning the appropriate progress of NIGC’s annual refinery overhaul program, Jolaei said: “Most of the refineries have been overhauled and the few remaining will be completed by the end of the current month (October 22); this will increase the reliability of the refineries so that we can maximize our production and ensure that gas is supplied uninterruptedly throughout the cold season.”

The official pointed to the storage of liquid fuel in power plants as another measure taken by the National Iranian Gas Company for a smooth passage of winter and said: "With the help and in cooperation with other relevant organizations, we also did good storage in the oil, gas and fuel oil sectors.”

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

EF/MA