Tehran Stock Exchange sets new record in trade volume

The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) has set a new record in trading volume, surpassing the 40,000 unit mark for the first time. During the early trading of shares on Wednesday, the sixth trading day in the Iranian new year that began on March 20, the TSE registered its newest record when the trade volume soared [...]

Iran asked to increase petchem exports

The managing director of the National Petrochemical Company says the Islamic Republic of Iran’s neighboring countries have demanded an increase in the export of the country’s petrochemical products. Abdolhossein Bayat made the remarks in an interview with the Oil Ministry’s official news agency, SHANA, on Sunday. “Despite all challenges in the way of petrochemical products [...]

Iran’s non-oil exports valued at $50bn in past year

The director of Iran’s Trade Development Organization (TDO) has estimated the total value of the country’s non-oil export of goods and services in the previous Iranian year (that just ended on March 20) at USD50 billion. Hamid Safdel further added that imports into Iran for the first 11 months of the past year reached USD48 [...]

Iran plans new petrochemical hub in Chabahar port

An Iranian deputy oil minister says the country plans to build a new petrochemical hub in the southeastern port city of Chabahar through USD 20 billion of investment. “Only those companies will be given permit for establishing petrochemical plants which are able to complete their value chain,” Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr stated on Tuesday. He said the [...]

Work on Pakistan section of IP gas pipeline to begin on Monday

TEHRAN – The construction of the Pakistan section of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline will officially begin on March 11, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi announced on Wednesday. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will attend the inauguration ceremony for the construction operations, the Mehr News Agency quoted Qasemi as saying. The pipeline [...]

Tehran Stock Exchange sets new record in trade volume

April 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments
The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) has set a new record in trading volume, surpassing the 40,000 unit mark for the first time.

During the early trading of shares on Wednesday, the sixth trading day in the Iranian new year that began on March 20, the TSE registered its newest record when the trade volume soared to over 40,000 units.

The city’s stock market began the new year’s trading at 38,040 points.

The trading volume in the Tehran market had already passed the 39,000-point mark on the second day of trading in the new Iranian calendar.

According to reports, the record-setting trade volume was influenced by heavy trading of shares offered by MAPNA Industrial Group, Iran Telecommunications, National Development Investment Group, and the Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery.

Iran asked to increase petchem exports

March 28th, 2013 Michael Comments
The managing director of the National Petrochemical Company says the Islamic Republic of Iran’s neighboring countries have demanded an increase in the export of the country’s petrochemical products.

Abdolhossein Bayat made the remarks in an interview with the Oil Ministry’s official news agency, SHANA, on Sunday.

“Despite all challenges in the way of petrochemical products exports in 1391 (the current Iranian calendar year, started March 20, 2012), neighboring countries have demanded an increase in the export capacity of our country thanks to high quality and variety of the goods produced in petrochemical complexes of Iran,” Bayat stated.

He added that petrochemical products have had a 38-percent share in the non-oil exports of the country in the current (Iranian calendar) year.

He also expressed hope that petrochemical products’ exports can develop further in the following (Iranian calendar) year.

Iran has significantly expanded the range and volume of its petrochemical products over the past few years, and the National Iranian Petrochemical Company has become the second-largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia.

The Islamic Republic exported a total of 18.2 million tons of petrochemical and polymer products, worth about USD 14.2 billion, to more than 60 countries in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended March 19, 2012).

Source: Press TV

Iran’s non-oil exports valued at $50bn in past year

March 28th, 2013 Michael Comments
The director of Iran’s Trade Development Organization (TDO) has estimated the total value of the country’s non-oil export of goods and services in the previous Iranian year (that just ended on March 20) at USD50 billion.

Hamid Safdel further added that imports into Iran for the first 11 months of the past year reached USD48 billion, which is expected to climb to USD55 billion for the entire year.

According to Safdel, the value of Iran’s non-oil export of goods –excluding services– for the first 11 months of the year 1391 was 71 million tons, valued at USD38 billion, and predicted that the amount for the entire year will reach USD43 billion.

He then emphasized that all annual objectives that were predicted in the fifth development plan have been realized.

The trade official further added that import of goods in the past year reflected a decline of USD 5-7billion, which mainly included semi-built goods.

Source: Press TV

Iran plans new petrochemical hub in Chabahar port

March 28th, 2013 Michael Comments
An Iranian deputy oil minister says the country plans to build a new petrochemical hub in the southeastern port city of Chabahar through USD 20 billion of investment.

“Only those companies will be given permit for establishing petrochemical plants which are able to complete their value chain,” Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr stated on Tuesday.

He said the plan will be implemented in three phases with a total investment of USD 20 billion.

Iran is one of the world’s major petrochemical producers, Khojasteh-Mehr pointed out, putting the country’s petrochemical production at 246 million tons per day.

According to the official, out of 57 million tons of the country’s rated petrochemical production capacity, 12 million tons remains vacant, though only three million tons of it can be blamed on feedstock shortage.

Khojasteh-Mehr stated that the petrochemical industry has remarkably reduced Iran’s dependence on crude oil revenues.

Chabahar Port, in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, lies 72 kilometers West of Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, and is connected to the city of Zaranj in Afghanistan’s southwestern province of Nimruz.

Source: Press TV

Work on Pakistan section of IP gas pipeline to begin on Monday

March 8th, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN – The construction of the Pakistan section of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline will officially begin on March 11, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi announced on Wednesday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will attend the inauguration ceremony for the construction operations, the Mehr News Agency quoted Qasemi as saying.
The pipeline construction work will be carried out by an Iranian company — Tadbir Energy Gostar — which has not been sanctioned by any foreign government. The first gas flow will be available to Pakistan by the end of December 2014, according to the Pakistani daily The News.
Pakistan has brushed off the mounting U.S. pressure to cancel its $7.5 billion gas pipeline project with Iran and has made it clear to the United States that it will complete the venture come what may, even at the cost of U.S. sanctions, because the project is an essential component necessary for the country to meet its energy requirements.
In 2010, the two countries reached an agreement, according to which Iran would supply Pakistan between 750 million cubic feet (21 million cubic meters) and one billion cubic feet per day of gas by mid-2015.
Iran has already completed a 900-kilometer section of the 56-inch diameter pipeline on its territory, and the remaining 200 kilometers up to the Pakistani border is expected to be completed in the next two years.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran petchem nominal capacity to reach 60mt: NPC chief

March 8th, 2013 Michael Comments
An Iranian deputy petroleum minister says the country’s nominal petrochemical production capacity is close to reaching 60 million tons (mt).

Abdolhossein Bayat said on Wednesday that the objective would be reached after several new petrochemical projects come on-stream before the current government bows out in August.

The official added that the country’s petrochemical output is planned to hit 100 mt by 2015.

“Today, petrochemical industry is an influential element in Iran’s economy and this industry has managed to win a significant share in the [country’s] non-oil exports,” added Bayat, who is also managing director of National Petrochemical Company (NPC).

Bayat stated that Iran is negotiating with some countries for exporting its new petrochemical products.

He gave an upbeat assessment of the future of Iran’s petrochemical industry, saying new petrochemical hubs in the southeastern port city of Chabahar, Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf, and Sarakhsh in northeastern Iran would bring about a major development in Iran’s petrochemical industry.

In February, Bayat had announced Iran’s plans to establish three new petrochemical hubs in the near future, saying the projects will turn Iran into the biggest petrochemicals producer in the Middle East.

Iran has significantly expanded the range and volume of its petrochemical products over the past few years, and the NPC has become the second largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia.

Source: Tehran Times

Iran, Iraq, Syria sign telecommunication agreement

March 8th, 2013 Michael Comments
Iran, Iraq and Syria have signed a tripartite telecommunication agreement aimed at establishing an optical fiber network linking the three countries.

The agreement was concluded by the representatives of the Telecommunication Infrastructure Company of Iran (TIC), Iraq’s Al-Sard Group and Syria Telecom at a meeting hosted by TIC in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Tuesday.

Based on the telecommunication deal, data and voice signals will be transmitted from Iran to Iraq and then to Syria and European countries.

“In line with its international macro policies, TIC seeks to establish telecommunication connections with all neighboring countries and the new opportunity that will be created by the [planned] optical fiber via Iraq will have mutual benefits for the three countries and will also be highly beneficial for the region,” said TIC Managing Director Mahmoud Khosravi.

The project will enable Syria to utilize TIC’s network via a secure and reliable route for communicating with other countries across the world.

 

Source: Tehran Times

Iran’s car exports tripled to $294m in 11 months

March 8th, 2013 Michael Comments

EHRAN – Iran exported 49,952 cars, valued at about $294 million, during the first eleven months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2012, the Mehr News Agency reported.

During the same period in the previous year, 18,455 cars, worth $96 million, were exported.
Iraq, Ukraine and Azerbaijan were the main importers of Iranian cars.
Meanwhile, 38,399 cars, valued at $932 million were imported into Iran during the 11-month period. The UAE, South Korea, and Kuwait were the main sources of car exports.
On February 3, ISNA reported that the Iranian administration has decided to reduce car import charges by 5 percent in a bid to create a balance in prices of cars in the domestic market.
The car import charges will be decreased by 5 percent in the next Iranian calendar year, which begins on March 21.
Iran plans to manufacture at least three million cars by 2025 and export some one million sets, Iranian Industry, Mines, and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said on June 16.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran to establish NGL plant on Persian Gulf island

March 4th, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN - Iran will inaugurate a natural gas liquids (NGL) production plant on Kharg Island, which is located in the Persian Gulf, by the end of the next Iranian calendar year (March 2014).

The project is now 50 percent complete, ISNA quoted Iranian Offshore Oil Company official Reza Bayazi as saying on Sunday. The plant’s output is projected to be 600 million cubic feet per day, he added.
The project will cost €1.2 billion to complete, he noted.
Some of the output of the new plant will be produced from associated gas, also known as flare gas or associated petroleum gas.
National Iranian Offshore Oilfields Company Managing Director Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh recently said that associated gas could benefit the country, but most of it is flared, causing massive losses for the nation.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran plans to issue high denomination banknotes

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN - The Central Bank of Iran plans to issue 200,000-rial and 500,000-rial banknotes, the Mehr News Agency quoted the central bank official Majid Saniei as saying.

Currently, 100,000-rial banknotes are the highest denomination currency in the country.
The society is in need of such high denomination banknotes, the official said.
The administration of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may face up to 171 trillion rials (about $13.8 billion) deficit for paying cash subsidies in line with the subsidy reform plan in the current Iranian calendar year which ends on March 20, according to media reports.
During the first half of the current year, the administration faced 47.701 trillion rials (about $3.8 billion) deficit. If the same situation continuous, its budget deficit will amount to 171 trillion rials.
Nearly 74.5 million Iranians receive cash subsidies.
The government implemented the first stage of the subsidy reform plan towards the end of 2010 in an attempt to wean the country off food and fuel subsidies. At the time, Ahmadinejad called it the “biggest economic plan of the past 50 years”.
It allows the government to gradually slash subsidies on fuel, electricity, and certain goods over the course of five years, with low-income families being compensated with direct cash handouts.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran set to increase gas exports to Turkey

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments
Iran is expected to sign a new agreement with Turkey to increase the volume of natural gas exports to its northwestern neighbor by five million cubic meters (mcm) per day.

The agreement is expected to be signed on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), scheduled to kick off in Tehran on Monday.

Following the agreement, Iran’s natural gas exports to Turkey will reach 30-35 mcm per day.

In December 2012, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said his country will continue buying natural gas from Iran despite financial sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic by the West.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Over the false allegation, Washington and the European Union have imposed unilateral illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iran refutes the allegation, arguing that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Iran’s natural gas is of crucial importance to Turkey, as it uses a significant portion of imported Iranian gas to generate electricity.

Iran, which owns the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves after Russia, is Turkey’s second-biggest supplier after Moscow.

In addition to exporting gas to Turkey, Armenia, and Pakistan, the Islamic Republic is currently negotiating gas exports to Iraq.

Turkey also imports oil from Iran.

Source: Press TV

Iran increases oil swap capacity in Caspian Sea region

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

The Islamic Republic of Iran has increased its oil swap capacity in the Caspian Sea region to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd).

According to a report on Sunday, Iran has increased the volume of its oil swap with the Caspian Sea littoral states, and currently has three short-term, mid-term and long-term plans high on its agenda in this regard.

The Islamic Republic plans to develop the coastal infrastructure at its northern port city of Neka, situated some 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Tehran, and raise its oil swap capacity.

It has started the development of the offshore pool at Neka oil terminal to meet the needs of merchant shipping fleets and also raise the oil reception capacity of the site.

The development plan is projected to increase the oil swap captivity of the Neka terminal from the current volume of 200,000 to 500,000 bpd in the initial phase, and then to 1.5 and 2.5 million bpd in coming years as mid-term and long-term plans come on stream.

Iran imports oil from Central Asian countries to be refined at Tehran and Tabriz oil refineries and then delivers an equivalent amount of oil to potential buyers in the Persian Gulf.

Source: Press TV



Iran plans to issue $10b in bonds to finance oil and gas projects

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN - The Iranian Oil Ministry plans to issue $10 billion worth of bonds to finance oil and gas projects in the next Iranian calendar year, which begins on March 21.

The plan is in line with next year’s national budget bill, which was recently submitted to the Iranian parliament, the Fars News Agency reported.
On Wednesday, the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad submitted the 7.3 quadrillion rial (about $595.4 billion) national budget bill for Iranian calendar year 1392.
The proposed national budget has increased by 22 percent compared to the previous year.
In July 2012, Oil Ministry official Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr said the Central Bank of Iran had opened a $10 billion line of credit for a number of national oil projects in the upstream sector.
The national oil projects have a number of sources of finance, such as access to 18 percent of the assets of the National Development Fund and the funds acquired through the issuance of $10 billion in foreign currency bonds, the issuance of 15 trillion rials in other bonds, and the sale of $10 billion of shares and properties of the Oil Ministry, Khojasteh-Mehr told the Shana News Agency.
In April, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said that the global economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic would not hinder the development of the country’s oil industry.
The Oil Ministry is committed to accelerating the implementation of its development plans, financed through the financial system and through government bonds, he said.
Iran ranks fourth worldwide with 155 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.
With 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, Iran has the world’s second largest natural gas reserves after Russia.
 
Source: Tehran Times



Inflation rate rises 1.1% in Iran, hits 29.8%

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN - The Central Bank of Iran has announced that the inflation rate in the 12-month period ended the eleventh Iranian calendar month of Bahman (February 18) hit 29.8 percent.

The figure rose 1.1 percent compared to the 12-month period ended on January 19, according to the Fars News Agency.
The Central Bank of Iran has announced that the inflation rate in the current Iranian current calendar year 1391, which ends on March 20, will hit 31.5 percent, ISNA reported.
The inflation rate had been projected to hit 32 percent, but measures have been taken to curb the rate at 31.5 percent, ISNA quoted Central Bank governor Mahmoud Bajmani as saying.
In December 2012, IRNA quoted Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Shamseddin Hosseini as saying that the Iranian administration has special plans to curb a probable surge in inflation during the final months of the current Iranian calendar year, ending on March 20, 2013.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran pipeline work to begin March 11: Pakistan officials

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – A consortium will start work next week on a much delayed $7.5 billion gas pipeline from Pakistan to Iran despite American warnings of possible sanctions, Pakistani officials said.

The date was announced after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari held talks in Tehran with Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who urged Islamabad to press ahead with the project.
“The groundbreaking is going to be performed on March 11 on the Pakistani side of border and we hope that the presidents of the two countries will be present on the occasion,” a senior Pakistani official told AFP, requesting anonymity.
He said the ceremony would mark the start of work by an Iranian-Pakistani consortium on the 780-kilometer (485-mile) pipeline earmarked for the Pakistani side of the border, which is said to cost some $1.5 billion.
A second Pakistani official also confirmed March 11 as the start date.
Although the pipeline on the Iranian side has almost been completed, Pakistan has run into repeated difficulties, both in financing the project and over a U.S. threat of possible sanctions.
Iran eventually agreed to finance a third of the costs of laying the pipeline through Pakistani territory to Nawabshah, north of Karachi, with the work to be carried out by an Iranian company.
Pakistani officials said in mid-December that Iran had promised a $500 million loan and that Islamabad would meet the rest of the cost.
“The government has assured us that they will arrange this money through different sources including international financial institutions,” a Pakistani official told AFP.

Source: Tehran Times



U.S. dollar sold at 24,537 rials at Iran’s Forex Center

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN - U.S. dollar was sold at 24,537 rials on Thursday at Iran’s Forex Center, compared with 24,527 rials on Wednesday, the Mehr News Agency reported.

Euro and pound were also sold at 32,259 rials and 37,228 rials, compared with 32,048 rials and 37,050 rials the day before.
Iran’s Forex Center was officially inaugurated on September 24.
The Central Bank of Iran has set the official exchange rate at 12,260 rials to the dollar. That rate is available to importers of certain goods that are deemed essential. Meanwhile, the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar in Iran’s free currency market is around 36,700 rials on Thursday.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran inaugurates biodiesel production plant

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments
TEHRAN - A biodiesel production plant was inaugurated on Thursday in Iran’s central province of Isfahan at a cost of 150 billion rials (about $12.2 million), IRNA reported.
The construction if the plant started six years ago. The produced biodiesel will pollute the air 83 percent less than other fuels.
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel. Biodiesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines and is thus distinct from the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel. Biodiesel can also be used as a low carbon alternative to heating oil.

 

Source: Tehran Times

$595b national budget bill submitted to Iranian parliament

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN – The administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented the national budget bill for Iranian calendar year 1392, which starts on March 21, to the Majlis on Wednesday.

The proposed national budget amounts to about 7.3 quadrillion rials (approximately $595 billion), showing a 22 percent rise year on year.
The bill has predicted a 40 percent drop in oil revenues compared to the current year’s projected figure.
It has forecast that oil revenues will hit 660 trillion rials (about $53.8 billion), 40 percent down year on year, according to the Fars News Agency.
The funding for running the government has been increased by 15.2 percent to 1.6 quadrillion rials (about $135 billion).
Reportedly, next year’s national budget has set the price of oil at $95 per barrel, based on the exchange rate of 12,260 rials, which has been fixed by the Central Bank of Iran.
The bill has also allocated 900 trillion rials (about $73.4 billion) for implementing the second phase of the Subsidy Reform Plan, a 125 percent rise compared to the budget which had been allocated for the first phase of the plan.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran’s cement output tops 64m tons in 11 months

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN – Iran produced over 64.1 million tons of cement in the first 11 months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2012).

The figure was 5.6 percent higher compared to the same period in the previous year, IRNA reported on Wednesday.
In December 2012, Iranian Industry, Mines, and Trade Deputy Minister Vajiollah Jafari said by reaching the annual output capacity of 115 million tons, Iran will become world’s third largest cement producer in the coming years.
Iran’s cement output will reach 75 million tons by the end of current Iranian calendar year, ISNA reported.
Iran plans to increase its cement output up to 85 million tons by the end of the next Iranian Calendar year.
Iran plans to export 12 million tons of cement in the current calendar year.
Industry, Mines and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said in August 2012 that the country’s cement production capacity will reach 110 million tons by 2015.

Source: Tehran Times



Iran starts tapping two oilfields with 15,000 bpd projected yield

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN - Two oilfields, namely Sarvestan and Sa’adat Abad, located in central parts of Iran, officially came on stream on Tuesday with a total projected output of 15,000 barrels per day.

The fields started early production on February 2, the Shana News Agency reported.
The two oilfields hold an estimated in-situ reserve of 1.402 billion barrels of crude oil.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi attended the inauguration ceremony of the oilfields.
National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Managing Director Ahmad Qalebani has said that the country’s daily oil and gas outputs should amount to five million barrels and 1.47 billion cubic meters by 2015.
NIOC has announced that it will implement 11 plans by the Iranian calendar month of Mordad 1392 (July 22-August 22, 2013) with the goal of boosting oil production by 175,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The plans are related to the first phase of the development plans of the Yadavaran, Sarvestan, Saadatabad, Hengam, Forouzan, Reshadat, Aban, and Paydar oilfields.
Once all the phases of the development plans are implemented, the output will be increased by 500,000 bpd.
Next to Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Canada, Iran ranks fourth worldwide with 155 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran seeks to attract foreign investment for industrial projects

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

TEHRAN - Iran plans to invite foreign investors to participate in establishing industrial parks in the country, IRIB quoted Iranian deputy industry minister Fakhrollah Molaei as saying.

The investors will be also urged to invest in completing semi-finished projects which have progressed by 50 percent, he added.
There are 321 semi-finished industrial projects have been identified so far, in which 40 billion rials (about $3.3 million) has been invested, he noted.
In September 2012, the head of the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran Behrouz Alishiri said that foreign investment plans worth as much as $10 billion are expected to be transacted by Iran during the current Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 20.
Foreign investment plans in Iran amounted to $4.3 billion last year, showing a 27 percent growth compared on the year before, Alishiri added.
Iran needs up to $400 billion in direct foreign investment to materialize its objective of 8 percent economic growth, he added.
Over the next five years, the government will need new sources of capital sourced through the input of national and international private finance, Alishiri said.
He said in October 2011 that the growth of direct foreign investment in Iran ranks amongst the highest in the world. Despite the global economic sanctions, more than 400 foreign companies are now directly investing in Iran.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran to set up energy hubs in 3 Persian Gulf islands: Official

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments

The managing director of the National Iranian Offshore Oil Company (NIOOC) says Iran plans to establish three energy hubs in the Persian Gulf islands of Lavan, Qeshm and Siri.

According to the country’s development plan, some USD 70 billion should be invested in the upstream sector of the oil industry, Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh said on Monday, adding that NIOOC plans to turn Lavan Island into a petrochemical hub.
  Zirakchianzadeh said some three billion cubic feet of natural gas will be fed into the Lavan Island for it to produce and directly export petrochemical products.
He added that some USD 12 billion and USD 16 billion in investment are respectively needed for the development of Lavan’s upstream industries and petrochemical sector.
The Iranian official further said that Qeshm Island has also been designated as a hub for generating electricity from gas.
He said that Iran’s Power Plant Projects Management Co. (MAPNA) will generate electricity from the natural gas fields of Qeshm by constructing a power plant in the island.
Zirakchianzadeh added that the project requires some eight billion euros of investment in the upstream industries and more than seven billion euros for the production of 6,000 megawatts of electricity.
He also said Siri Island will become Iran’s gas export hub, adding that some USD 14 billion of investment is needed for the development of the three gas fields of Foruz-A and -B and Binaloud in the island.
The petrochemical sector in Siri Island presents some USD 16 billion in investment opportunities, he said.
Iran, which sits on the world’s second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, is making efforts to boost its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments.
(Source: Press TV)



Iran gas to contribute 13% of Pakistan consumption

March 3rd, 2013 Michael Comments
LAHORE - The Pakistani business community has urged the government to enhance import of gas volume being imported through Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline which is at presently just 13 percent of the total gas production of the country.
The government has inked Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline agreement according to which the initial capacity of the pipeline will be 22 billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum, which is expected to be later raised to 55 billion cubic meters. This gas quantity will fulfil only the present requirement of the country, bridging the industry’s current demand and supply gap of energy, observed noted industrialist Abdul Basit.
The LCCI former SVP suggested the government to also pursue the Iranian authorities to increase the gas quantity in the said agreement in view of our future energy demands, besides seeking more avenues of energy.
He said that the work on this multi-million dollar project is stalled for unknown reasons and he is unable to understand the causes of the delay in this highly beneficial project of national importance when the gas pricing formula had already agreed in 2009 and Tehran and Islamabad had also inked the final agreement to launch the project by Spring 2014.
He said that the Iranian government had already completed its part of the project and if Pakistani authorities show some interest, the pipeline would complete much earlier than the stipulated period, which is actually need of the hour. He said that the severest-ever shortage of gas in the country calls for extraordinary measures on war footing and the people sitting at the helm of affairs should gear up their efforts for the early completion of the project.
He said that there a huge number of industries where the gas is basic raw material and due to its acute shortage there would be no work in these units while the graph of unemployment would go up further.
(Source: nation.com.pk)



Iran to build $4 billion refinery in Pakistan

February 24th, 2013 Michael Comments

Iran has agreed to build an oil refinery in Pakistan at an estimated value of 4 billion dollars, a senior Pakistani official says.

Asim Hussain, an adviser to the Pakistani prime minister, said that the refinery will be constructed in the port city of Gwadar.
The plant will be able to refine 400,000 barrels a day.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between an Iranian delegation led by Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi and Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.
“We had very good meetings and we had a lot of bilateral talks especially on Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and setting up oil refinery at Gwadar with PSO (Pakistan State Oil),” IRNA quoted Asim Hussain as saying.
According to a Pakistani official, it is expected that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) be signed for building the refinery during President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Tehran on February 27.
Oil Minister Qasemi visited Pakistan on Tuesday to discuss the gas pipeline project with officials in Islamabad.
Iran has agreed to complete Pakistan’s part of the gas pipeline project.
Source: Tehran Times



President Zardari due in Iran to finalize gas deal: Pakistani official

February 23rd, 2013 Michael Comments

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will visit Iran to finalize a deal on a multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Asim Hussain, an advisor to the Pakistani prime minister on petroleum and natural resources, said Zardari would pay a visit to Tehran in the near future to hold talks with Iranian officials over the gas pipeline project.
The Pakistani official also stated that the project would inaugurate on due time, which is December 2014. Zardari will focus on the construction of the Pakistan section of the gas pipeline, Hussain added.
An informed source at Iran’s embassy in Islamabad has also confirmed the Pakistani president’s visit to Iran.
The exact date of the visit has not been mentioned.
The pipeline stretches from the border between the two countries to Navabshah region in Pakistan, and covers 781 kilometers of its total length of 1,881 kilometers.
 Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Moazzam A. Khan said on Thursday that the IP project would be a main solution to Pakistan’s energy shortage.
The United States objects to the joint project, but Pakistan has constantly dismissed rumors that it might pull out of the project amid efforts by the United States to convince the country to abandon the pipeline.
The Wall Street Journal said in a report that the United States had threatened Pakistan with stringent sanctions if it goes through the project.
“Washington has made it clear that it will impose economic sanctions on Islamabad if it begins to buy gas from Iran. Besides, the UN mandated sanctions on any trade with the oil-rich country,” the Journal said.
The pipeline, projected to cost about USD 1.2-1.5 billion, would enable the export of 21.5 million cubic meters of Iran’s natural gas to Pakistan on a daily basis.
Iran has already built more than 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran’s 10 months engineering exports hit 2.3 billion dollars

February 23rd, 2013 Michael Comments

Iran exported over $2.3 billion worth of technical and engineering services in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2012.

According to the Mehr news agency report, the exported services are predominantly in the hydroelectric, power and transmission sectors.
Iran has signed couple of technical and engineering projects in recent years in the fields of energy, industry and housing in several Asian and African countries.
Iran aims to export $4.5 billion worth of technical and engineering services in the current calendar year.
Iran has exported over $20 billion worth of technical and engineering services over 2001-2011, the head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) had said recently. Hamid Safdel added that the exports were mainly related to power, industry, road, and petrochemical sectors.
Source: Tehran Times



Era of cheap gas is over, Iran says

February 22nd, 2013 Michael Comments

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has said that the era of cheap gas is over.

Realizing a fair gas price is a goal which is seriously followed up by Iran, he added.
To this end, we will negotiate with all members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), the Mehr News Agency quoted Qasemi as saying.
Gas should be sold at a real price, he stressed.
In November 2012, Iran was named the new chair of the GECF and will host a summit in autumn 2013.
Leaders of the world’s biggest gas suppliers ended their first summit in Doha, Qatar on November 13, 2012. During the gathering, they restated the need for a fair gas price, while Iran warned that Western taxation could derail the energy market, according to AFP.
The GECF issued a declaration after the one-day summit, in which the 12 member states emphasized “the need to reach a fair price for natural gas based on gas to oil… prices indexation.”
Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi called the meeting “a turning point in the history of the natural gas industry,” but criticized the taxes imposed on energy exports by Western consumer countries.
Any taxation by consumer countries “will derail the energy market,” Qasemi stated, adding that the fall in the value of the dollar has “negatively affected the world economy.”
The forum unites 12 countries as full members and 3 as observers. The full members possess 70 percent of the world’s gas reserves and account for 42 percent of gas production, 38 percent of transport through gas pipelines, and 85 percent of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business.
The GECF members are Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad & Tobago, and Venezuela, while Kazakhstan, Norway, and the Netherlands have observer status.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran’s caviar output projected to hit 3 tons

February 22nd, 2013 Michael Comments

Iran’s caviar output is projected to hit 3 tons in the next Iranian calendar year, which starts on March 21, IRNA quoted the Iranian Fishery Organization Director Gholamreza Razeqi as saying.

Over one tons of caviar has been so far produced in the current year, some half of it has been exported, he added.
Some 5 million sturgeon fries were released by the fishery organization in the Caspian Sea, he noted.
In October 2012, Razeqi said that the value of exports of Iran’s fishery sector will surpass $350 million in the current calendar year.
“The exports stood at $210 million last year,” Razeqi said, IRNA reported.
Some 4,000 tons of shrimp, valued at around $17 million, was exported last year to the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, Australia and Spain, he said, adding that infrastructures have been provided to export 500 kilograms of caviar in the current year.
Iran plans to increase annual caviar output by 10 fold to one ton in the current calendar year, Razeqi said in June.
Source: Tehran Times



Iran to earn $14bn from gas exports: gas official

February 22nd, 2013 Michael Comments

Iran is forecasted to reap USD14 billion from selling natural gas by 2016, a senior gas industry official says.

Pirouz Monjazi, director of Finance Department of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said on Tuesday that Iran will be exporting more than 35 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to Pakistan, Iraq and some other Persian Gulf states by 2016.
He highlighted the big share of natural gas exports in national revenues, stressing the need for more investment in the gas sector.
Iran is constructing a pipeline to Pakistan for the delivery of to 21.5 million cubic meters (mcm) per day of natural gas to its eastern neighbor as of next year.
Tehran and Baghdad are finalizing an agreement for Iran to export natural gas to the neighboring Iraq.
The Islamic Republic has basically agreed to pump 25 mcm per day of natural gas to Iraq from next summer.
Iran’s giant offshore South Pars Gas Field, which is shared with Qatar, holds about 14 trillion cubic meters (tcm) of gas, or about eight percent of the total world reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources.
Iran, which sits on the world’s second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, is making efforts to up its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in South Pars Gas Field.
Source: Press TV



Iran to issue $570m of bonds to finance transport infrastructure projects

February 22nd, 2013 Michael Comments

Iran will start selling 7 trillion rials (about $570 million) bonds on Friday for expanding its roads and transportation infrastructures, IRNA quoted Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company of Iran Managing Director Ahmad Sadeqi as saying.

The earnings will be spent to expand railways, freeways, highways, and main roads across the country, he added.
Last year, 54 railway, freeway, and highway projects were implemented at a cost of 30 trillion rials (about $2.4 billion) using revenues earned through selling bonds, he noted.
He pointed out to financing 50 percent of projects through selling bonds, and added that 23 trillion rials (about $1.8 billon) is needed annually to implement road transportation expansion projects in the country.
In October 2012, the Fars News Agency quoted Iranian Deputy Roads and Urban Development Minister Shahryar Afandizadeh as saying that the volume of transited goods via Iran has increased by 75 percent compared to four years ago.
Afandizadeh told IRNA that over 5.8 million tons of goods were transited via Iran in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, showing 25 percent growth year on year.
He added that 2.4 million tons of the transited goods were oil products and the rest were non-oil products.
The highest volume of the transited goods was related to transiting 1.8 million tons of goods from Iraq to the UAE.
Afandizadeh said that more than 100 countries are currently transiting their goods via Iran.
Source: Tehran Times



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