Oil Minister: Iran to Use More Gas Storage Facilities

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi announced on Saturday that the country is locating new sites to construct more natural gas storage facilities.

Addressing a ceremony to inaugurate the Middle-East’s largest underground gas storage facility in the country’s Central province of Qom today, Qassemi said that studies are underway to locate proper sites for building 40 gas storage facilities.

He said the second gas storage facility will be inaugurated in the Northeastern region of Sarakhs by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20).

“The balance in gas extraction in summer and winter will be adjusted once these facilities are inaugurated,” he said.

Iran officially launched the first underground natural gas storage facility of Sarajeh region in Qom province today in the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

In the first phase, Sarajeh is able to take 10 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Under the Fifth Five Year Development Plan (2010-2015), Petroleum Ministry is obliged to raise gas storage capacity to 14 billion cubic meters per year as of 2015.