Addressing 25th World Gas Conference in Malaysia, Oji said: Over the fifth five year development plan to 2015, 12 new phases of South Pars Gas Field will be coming online, of which four phases have allocated to LNG. He went on to say that Iran’s gas production capacity will reach 1.2 billion cubic meters of gas per day in 2016 of which 180 million cubic meters will be exported through gas pipelines and LNG carrier vessels.  
Referring to development of North Pars Gas Field and Kish Gas Field, along with other newly discovered gas fields, as the country’s priorities in gas sector, Oji noted that Iran’s oil industry needs 150 billion dollars of investment over the fifth five year development plan, of which the lion’s share should be met by international financial institutions.

Referring to gas plans of the country in next years, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said: Allocating gas produced in four phases of South Pars Gas Field to exports to Europe, through a gas pipeline from Assaluyeh south of Iran to Bazargan region, northwest of the country in border with Turkey, with transfer capacity of 110 million cubic meters per day, are among the other plans of the country in future.   

‘The gas produced by another four phases of South Pars Gas Field will be allocated to exports to Pakistan and India while negotiations are underway for other possible routes which will turn Iran into a key player in the region as a source of supplying gas to customers.

Elsewhere in his remarks, NIGC’s managing director noted that Iran ranks the second in the region in view of the length of gas grid adding Islamic Republic of Iran with production capacity of 600 million cubic meters of gas per day and holding advanced infrastructures is capable to transfer 750 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Oji pointed out to the country’s 35 thousand kilometers of high pressure gas grid stating the infrastructure enables Iran to transfer a big volume of gas from its borders with Azerbaijan Republic and Turkmenistan to Turkey and Persian Gulf. He further noted that Islamic Republic of Iran currently exports gas to Turkey and Armenia while swaps gas with Azerbaijan Republic.

Referring to Iran and Turkmenistan’s recent deals on raising the volume of gas imports from Turkmenistan to 14 billion cubic meters per year, the official said: Gas exports to Iraq, Syria and finally Europe is on the petroleum ministry’s agenda. According to Oji construction of a 200 kilometers gas pipeline, with 48 inches diameter, is the first step in gas trade with the neighboring country, Iraq.

The five-day conference organized by the International Gas Union (IGU) was attended by over 5,000 industry professionals and companies showcasing latest developments with information on policies, strategies, technologies, challenges and opportunities. IGU is a worldwide non-profit organization whose objective is to promote the technical and economic progress of the global gas industry. The members of the IGU are associations and entities of the gas industries in 77 countries which account for over 95 percent of the natural gas traded around the world, and maintain very close ties with many other international energy organizations. It consists of a total of 116 members, of which 78 are charter members and 38 are associate members. The conference featured 14 keynote speakers, 10 strategic panels, 4 luncheon addresses, 42 technical sessions, 135 poster sessions, expert forums and 3 task force sessions. The event also had 11,400sqm exhibition with 270 companies from over 80 countries showcasing the latest in technologies and developments within the gas industry.