Iran to up natural gas output by 200 mcm/day: Oil minister

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says the Islamic Republic plans to increase its natural gas production by 200 million cubic meters per day (mcm/day) by March 2016.

Zanganeh said on Monday that the increase in natural gas output would eliminate Iran’s need to import the product from Turkmenistan.

Iran holds the second largest natural gas reserves in the world after Russia, with estimated 33 plus trillion cubic meters of extractable deposits.

The country distributes the gas it imports from Turkmenistan to its northeastern provinces, which are distant from Iran’s southern gas-rich regions.

The Iranian oil minister, however, said that “although Iran does not need Turkmenistan’s [natural] gas, economic and political ties with the country are of great importance to Iran.”

He further called for the exports of goods and engineering services to Turkmenistan, adding that Iranian companies are currently capable of running projects worth USD 700 million to USD 1 billion.

Iran is Turkmenistan’s second largest trade partner after Russia.

The Islamic Republic exports machinery, construction materials, sedans, buses, food stuff, agricultural and petrochemical products, electrical products and home appliances to Turkmenistan, and imports natural gas, electricity, textiles and agricultural products from its northern neighbor.