Page 12 - DMEA Week 31

DMEA TRANSPORT DMEA

Iran inaugurates northern gas projects

IRAN IRANIAN Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh this conclusion that connecting these areas to the
week commissioned 286 gas projects in the national network is the most economical way.”
Gas production is north-eastern province of Khrasan Razavi as Meanwhile, last month, Hassan Montazer
unaffected by industrial part of Tehran’s plans to increase supply and Torbati, head of the National Iranian Gas Co.
action. connectivity in rural areas. (NIGC), said that projects to connect these areas
Local news agency IRIB reported that these to the gas network remained ongoing despite
developments would increase gas network cov- lockdowns and other issues creased by the coro-
erage in rural areas to 88%, giving new 77 areas navirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
and 39 more villages access to gas supplies. This followed comments from NIGC’s for-
Meanwhile, gas supplies to 167 production and mer director of dispatching, Mehdi Jamshi-
industrial units also commenced. di-Dana, who said that the national gas network’s
Zanganeh was quoted by IRIB as saying that capacity had increased to 1bn cubic metres per
2013, more than 32,000 rural households had day. Meanwhile, Shana recently reported that
been connected to the national gas network, and the country’s gas refining capacity had also
that more than 95% of the country’s total popu- expanded to more than 1 bcm per day.
lation is connected to the grid. “This coverage is Exports also grew by around 3.6 bcm
unprecedented in the world,” he added. between March 2019 and March 2020 and this
Of Tehran’s plans for expanding coverage in week, a source at NIGC told Middle East Oil &
rural areas, he said: “We examined all methods Gas (MEOG) that despite industrial action being
of supplying gas to the rural areas, which took a taken by workers throughout Iran’s oil and gas
year to study and research, and we came to the sector, gas production has been unaffected. ™

LNG

Renergen completes design

work for LNG plant

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH Africa’s Renergen said last week that it highway to distribute LNG from the first phase
had completed design work on its planned gas of its South African partner’s plant.
Completion comes 22 liquefaction plant 22 days ahead of schedule. The second stage of Renergen’s LNG plant is
days ahead of schedule. In a statement, the company described the due to begin production in 2023. Part of the pro-
plant design as the fourth major milestone in its duction from the second stage will distributed in
Virginia gas project. Achieving this goal is in line Total retail outlets along all South Africa’s major
with efforts to launch LNG production in 2021, highways, and the remaining volumes will be
it said. sold to other buyers.
Renergen is building its LNG plant in two Renergen recently held South Africa’s first
stages. The first stage will involve connecting the LNG auctions. It announced the start of the sales
company’s natural gas wells near Welkom, Vir- on July 20, saying it would accept offers for future
ginia and Theunissen in Free State to a new pipe- production streams of LNG and helium from its
line. It will also encompass the construction of plant until August 28. ™
the gas liquefaction plant and of a helium plant.
The latter facility will take advantage of the
fact that Renergen’s gas fields contain an unu-
sually high concentration of helium. Sproule,
an international energy consulting firm, has
estimated that they may hold as much as 9.74bn
cubic metres of helium, a quantity that exceeds
the total proven reserves of North America.
Once the gas liquefaction plant comes
online, Renergen will halt production of CNG
and switch to LNG. The company has already
arranged to work with a unit of France’s Total to
promote the use of LNG as a fuel for long-haul
trucking. Total will use its filling stations along
the Johannesburg-Durban section of the N3

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 31 06•August•2020