TEHRAN – The managing director of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) has said the country’s gas revenues have increased by 64 percent since the current government took office last August, IRNA reported.

“An 11 percent increase in gas exports to Turkey and the continuation of negotiations to increase exports, the collection of about $1.6 billion of Iran's gas dues from Iraq, and a 138 percent increase in gas swaps are among other measures taken to promote energy diplomacy in the 13th government,” Majid Chegeni said on Sunday.

Speaking at a ceremony for inaugurating several gas projects on the occasion of Government Week, Chegeni noted that over the past year Iran has reached a new record in gas condensate exports and the country has been established as a major player in the region’s gas market.

According to the official, the Islamic Republic’s natural gas refining capacity has also reached 1.030 billion cubic meters in the past 12 months and 530 kilometers of new gas pipelines have also been constructed to transfer fuel to seven power plants.

Operating the largest natural gas network in West Asia, NIGC continues to expand this network into the country’s most remote areas so that currently over 95 percent of the Iranian population enjoys natural gas through this huge network.

With a total length of over 36,000 kilometers, Iran’s gas network is also among the world’s most modern networks and it enjoys the most modern and updated measuring, transmission, and pressure boosting instruments and equipment.

This vast network of pipelines is growing bigger and bigger every year as NIGC tries to increase the coverage of the national network to nearly 100 percent.

According to NIGC data, Iran is currently producing over 810 mcm of natural gas daily which is mostly used inside the country for the domestic sector and also as fuel for the power plants, and a small portion is also exported to neighboring countries like Iraq and Turkey.

EF/MA