Page 49 - IRANRptAug22

Iran reports booming gas and oil export earnings
Iran makes new find, reiterates output expansion plans
memorandum concluded with it, it was decided to jointly implement a project to supply gas to Oman and Pakistan," Owji was quoted as saying.
Gazprom and the Iranian National Oil Corporation (NIOC) signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation during Russian leader Vladimir Putin's recent visit to Tehran.
It covers projects in Iran estimated at around $40bn, including the development of the Kish and North Pars gas fields, the pressurisation of the South Pars field, the development of six oil fields, the completion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, gas and derivatives swaps, the construction of gas export pipelines and scientific and technical cooperation.
Iran's gas export earnings for the first four months of the Persian calendar year (March 21 to July 21) reached nearly $4bn, the semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Oil Minister Javad Owji as saying on July 27. "We have collected close to $4 billion of gas exports for the first four months of the year, which is nearly as much as what was collected for the entire previous year," Owji was quoted as saying.
A day previously, economy minister Ehsan Khandouzi told a press briefing that the Islamic Republic’s income from oil and condensate exports in the first four months of the Iranian year was higher by 580% y/y.
"Due to the increase in oil exports and our new budget's currency conversion rate, we saw a 580% increase in the treasury's income from the export of oil and condensate in the first four months of this year," Khandouzi said.
The Iranian government says it has devised sanction-proofed ways to repatriate funds to the treasury from earlier energy exports, while officials claim to have boosted oil exports despite US sanctions still in place that Washington under former US president Donald Trump introduced saying the intention was to drive down Iranian crude exports to zero. The fact that China has remained a crucial market to Tehran for below-the-radar oil sales is well documented. Iran mainly exports gas to Turkey and Iraq. Sales to Iraq have been hampered by frequent rows over unpaid bills but ahead of the summer this year, Baghdad recommitted to paying off the debts and said it would switch to monthly payments to ensure more regular remuneration.
Iran is sometimes short of gas to export. Though it sits on the world’s second largest gas reserves, sanctions over the years have hindered the technological investments that would be required in Iranian gas fields to secure sufficient flows for domestic consumption demands and export ambitions.
Officials dealing with rising discontent and protests in Iranian society over economic hardship—annual inflation lately passed the 50% mark while the Iranian rial very much remains on the ropes—may hope some of the extra energy income will translate into rising prosperity among the population at large.
Iran this week reiterated plans to significantly increase its production capacities for oil and gas by the end of the decade. Meanwhile, details have emerged about investments to be made by Russian companies following last week’s headline-grabbing deal.
While the expansion plans are not new, the level of investment mentioned is, with the Russian commitment accounting for around a quarter of projected spending.
According to the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) has a seven-year investment plan that will allow oil production to rise to 5.7mn barrels per day, with that of gas rising to 1.5bn cubic metres per day, up from 3.8mn bpd and 1 bcm per day respectively by 2029.
49 IRAN Country Report August 2022 www.intellinews.com