Reproduction from Sarajeh gas storage to exceed 1bcm by next March

Reproduction capacity of Iran’s Sarajeh underground gas storages (UGS) will exceed one billion cubic meters (bcm) by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2021), the managing director of Iranian Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC) said.

According to Ramin Hatami, over 902 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas was reproduced from Sarajeh storage in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19) while 869 million cubic meters of gas was injected into this storage, Shana reported.

The reproduction capacity of the storage is expected to reach more than one billion cubic meters this year with the addition of at least 150 mcm to the injected gas, he said.

Referring to the company's complete readiness for supplying natural gas in winter, the official added: "With the increase of gas storage in the Sarajeh storage, we are fully prepared to supply and support the national gas line in the cold season.”

Reproduction from Sarajeh and Shourijeh storages, which are the country’s major gas storage facilities, increased by 33 percent in the past Iranian calendar year compared to the preceding year, according to Ahmad Rajabi, director of technical affairs at the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC).

The mentioned storages supply gas to six northern and northeastern provinces that are far from the southern gas-rich regions, eliminating the need for importing gas from Turkmenistan.

As the first natural gas storage facility in Iran and the West Asia, Sarajeh storage facility was officially inaugurated in January 2014 near Qom, 124km south of Tehran.

Back in November 2019, the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) announced that the company had awarded the development project of Shourijeh gas storage facility to an Iranian company based on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract.

In this regard, NIGC Head Hassan Montazer Torbati noted that following the development of the South Pars gas field and the increase in the country’s gas production capacity, construction, and development of the country’s natural gas storage facilities has become a top priority.

Therefore, the capacity of the two storage facilities, Sarajeh and Shourijeh, is planned to increase to over seven billion cubic meters in the near future.

source: TehranTimes