Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- A senior Iranian oil ministry official said here Monday that Europe has no way out but to satisfy its energy needs by transferring Iran’s gas via Turkey’s Nabucco pipeline.
“Europe’s need to Iran’s gas supplies through Nabucco pipeline which passes through Turkey is inevitable,” Managing Director of the National Oil Refining and Distribution Company said during his address to a Tehran meeting dubbed ‘Geopolitical Developments and Role of Natural Gas’.
Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh viewed the energy needs of increasingly growing industries in the developing and industrial countries as well as the lower environmental pollution and the proper and competitive prices of gas in comparison with other fossil fuels as among the main factors which have made gas as the leading fuel and source of energy in the 21st century.
Referring to the world’s increasing energy needs, he reminded that according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) statistical figures, the world energy demands will grow to 44% by 2030. But meantime he underlined that the target markets should secure long-term demands, materialize economic goals, plans and strategies, assure the return of investment costs and bring stable revenues to Iran.
“On the other hand, such markets should attract capital, technology and cooperation of the international companies for the development of Iran’s giant gas reserves, play an influential role in international relations in order to strengthen Iran’s national security and reinvigorate Iran’s convergence and solidarity with the target country,” the official added.
“Given the European countries’ possibilities for providing the needed capital and technology as well as their influential role in international relations and their influence on relations among such regional countries as India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Armenia and Iraq, Europe is among the target markets for Iran’s gas exports as it can help to the formation of a secure energy region with Iran as its center and it can also help with the promotion of regional convergence and solidarity,” he said.
Nematzadeh also identified China as among the main target markets for the Islamic Republic, saying, “Owing to its strategic relations and its secure, attractive and lucrative energy market, China is among the established target markets for Iran’s gas exports.”
He further reminded that Europe is in dire need of growing energy imports, adding that European countries are striving to secure long-term energy supplies through diversifying suppliers and pipeline routes, including new gas pipelines from Russia, north Africa and Iran.
The official said European countries need Iran’s gas while Iran, for its turn, is in need of the EU market, stressing that such a trade deal would yield many political and economic fruits for both sides.
“That’s why the new Nabucco pipeline which was proposed by Turkey for transferring gas supplies of Central Asia and Iran to Europe was welcomed by the energy ministers of Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey itself and that’s why the said energy ministers in a recent meeting have each taken up a 20% share for the establishment of the pipeline,” he added.
Turkey and Iran are expected soon to complete the agreement to build some 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) of gas pipelines to transport up to 40 billion cubic meters (1.4 trillion cubic feet) of gas annually to Europe through Turkey.
