TEHRAN- About 25 percent of the gas needed inside the country will be supplied from the underground gas storage (UGS) facilities by the next five years, the managing director of Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company (IGEDC) stated.

As announced by Reza Noshadi, 14 gas storage facility development projects are currently underway across the country.

According to the official, in addition to the geographical distribution of the mentioned projects all around the country, they also have unique features in terms of the required technology and complexity of operations.

Storage in a salt dome and water reservoir are two of the mentioned projects which are being conducted for the first time in the country, while Ghezel Tappeh Reservoir is also one of the country’s most exceptional hydrocarbon fields in terms of temperature and pressure, Noshadi said.

“The development of such fields significantly improves the skills of Iranian engineers and leads to the integration of knowledge and technology in the country, so we need to attract experts and experienced engineers to manage and implement these strategic projects,” he added.

Noshadi further stressed the importance of timely implementation of storage development projects and called for the allocation of human resources needed to fulfill commitments on time.

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

In this regard, Oil Ministry has been following a comprehensive plan to increase the country’s natural gas storage capacity to 6.5 billion cubic meters (bmc) by the Iranian calendar year 1402 (starting in March 2023). The country’s current gas storage capacity stands at 3.25 bcm.

Iran currently 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.

MA/MA