Iran's Gas to Power Plan Fails
Iran supplied 67.413bn m3 gas to power plants the year to March 20, about 2.8% less than the previous year, meaning it used more diesel and fuel oil instead. This was due to a gas shortage, according to an official document, prepared by energy ministry and seen by NGW.
Iran used 9.635bn litres of liquid fuel in the power sector, 13% more than in the previous year. Generation rose only 1% to 311 TWh, despite 2.5% growth in nominal power generation capacity, as drought has hit the hydro sector, cutting output by 58% year-on-year. Thermal power plants account for 92% of total electricity generation in Iran.
Iran’s oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh announced March 17 that for 10 months of year, the country produced 841mn m3/d average, about 100mn m3/d more than the same period of last year, although no other source of statistics comes anywhere near justifying that claim.
Iran brought on line a platform with 14mn m3/d capacity at phase 14 of South Pars in November, while four new phases (13, 22-24) became half-operational March 17, adding 56mn m3/d to production capacity.
Wood Mackenzie told NGW that Iran’s sale gas production may have reached 232bn m3 (635mn m3/d)in 2018 (about 3% growth year-on-year), of which 16.6bn m3 (24% growth year-on-year) were exported to Turkey and Iraq. The Iranian parliament also published a report that projected domestic consumption to stand at 207bn m³ – excluding 10.65bn m3/yr gas lost in the grid – last fiscal year.