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IRIB – Iran is ready to provide Europe with gas requirements through the Nabucco pipeline, Ali Majedi, Deputy Oil Minister in charge of International Affairs said on Saturday. Speaking to IRNA, he noted that since Europe seeks to diversify its energy resources, Iran by having the biggest gas reserves can provide Europe with parts of its energy needs through Nabucco pipeline. Recently, two visiting European delegations discussed various routes which can take Iranˈs gas to Europe, Majedi added. He underlined that after the ease of the sanctions, Iran and its European partners should do their best to find the way to overcome the problem. There are various routes for the export of Iranˈs gas to Europe including Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Caucasus and the Black Sea, Majedi noted. He asserted that Turkeyˈs route is the best compared to others. Nabucco pipeline will be useless without Iranˈs gas, the official asserted. He announced that the amount of gas to be supplied by the Azeri offshore Caspian Shah Deniz II will not be enough for the Nabucco pipeline. The only promised gas for Nabucco is through the Azeri offshore Caspian Shah Deniz II production that is estimated at not more than 8 bcm per year. Therefore, even if Azerbaijan’s gas ends up supplying the Nabucco gas pipeline, there would still be a deficit of 23 bcm of gas per year for the pipeline. Majedi underscored that Iran has the potential to export gas to Europe via Turkey and they have showed interest in this regard. Iran has also the potential to export gas to Europe via sea in LNG form, he added. Majedi noted that the Europeans had imposed sanctions against themselves by sanctioning Iran. Europe is the world’s biggest spender on energy imports. With more than half a billion consumers, the European Union is very attractive and naturally offers a demanding and ever-growing gas market. Iranian natural gas is Russia’s only competitor for Europe. Unquestionably then, the world shall participate in the development of Iran’s immense, untapped gas fields which comprise over 18% of total world gas and will be essential for making the Nabucco project a reality. |
