_f1920x300q80.jpeg)
Iranian Data Shows Gap in Exports to Iraq
Iran has been exporting to Iran just 13.1mn m3/day, according to Iranian data. Iraqi officials have repeatedly announced that they are receiving 28mn m3/d Iranian gas and that they plan to increase the volume to 35mn m3/d by June 2019 but data published by Iran suggests this is not the case.
Wood Mackenzie had told NGW in November last year that the volume may be about 17mn m3/d.
Iran started selling 7mn m3/d to Baghdad June 22, 2017, and this gradually rose to 12mn-14mn m3/d by the end of the year but Iran has not confirmed the total. Iran has two agreements covering exports to Baghdad and Basrah, each for 25mn m³/d, with about a third flowing in winter and two thirds in summer.
National Iranian gas company released a report June 2, saying that Iran delivered an average 13.1mn m³/d to Basrah and Baghdad together during the last fiscal year to March 20, while the export volume in March 20-April 20 was 14.6mn m3/d.
The US withdrew from the nuclear treaty with Iran in May last year and has imposed sanctions on Iran. It also gave a 90-day waiver to Iran's gas customer Iraq last October, which is due to expire mid-June after two extensions. The US State Department told NGW last week: “The waiver provided to Iraq does not expire until mid-June and no new extension has been provided. We are working to help Iraq, an energy rich nation, to become energy independent.”
Exports to Turkey averaged 22mn m3/d during the last fiscal year, a 13.1% decline year-on-year, but during March 20-April 20 the figure was 25mn m3/d. Russian pipeline supplies have fallen this year, by contrast.
Iran’s total gas intake from abroad – Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, based on separate swap deals – fell 45% to 6.3mn m3/d, while its overall exports rose 4.4% to 38.7mn m3/d during last fiscal year. That included 1.4mn m3/d gas swapped for Armenian electricity at the rate of 1m3/3kWh, according to the data.
The country’s total gas injection to grid (including imports) stood at 653mn m3/d during last fiscal year, 7.4% more than the previous year, of which about 173mn m³/d were consumed in the residential sector; 186mn m³/d in power plants; 200mn m³/d in industry and 21mn m³/d were sold to fuel cars as compressed natural gas.
During March 20-April 20, gas injections into the grid reached 668mn m3/d, about 11.5% more than the same period in last year, because the majority of country’s production growth came in the second half of last year.