The South Pars pipeline will feed the southern provinces of Khuzestan and Bushehr.

Iran has put into operation its sixth cross-country gas pipeline to transfer sweetened gas in phases 9 and 10 of the South Pars field.
“The 492-kilometer transmission pipeline has the capacity to carry 110 million cubic meters of sweet gas per day,“ said Azizollah Ramezani, the managing director of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC).
The pipeline will feed the southern Iranian provinces of Khuzestan and Bushehr; it also raises the prospect of Iran beginning gas exports to Kuwait. Iran has set ambitious objectives for its gas sector and has managed to raise its 2007 production to 169 billion cubic yards.
The country plans to increase its output to 617.5 billion cubic yards by 2020. The target if achieved would allow the country to become the third largest gas producer.
Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari said that phases 9 and 10 which are the largest national projects will join the country’s gas network on the occasion of the Ten-Day-Dawn ceremonies marking the victory anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution (February 1-10), IRNA reported.
He praised great efforts made by all those involved in the country’s oil industry development projects.
Nozari also met with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and Gazprom chief Alexei Miller to discuss energy cooperation and the recently formalized Gas Exporting Countries Forum.
Nozari described the meeting as positive, saying it was a significant sign of Russian leadership in the energy sector as the indoctrination of a formal GECF charter took place in Moscow, calling it a significant event.
The Iranian minister said he had extended a formal invitation to visit Tehran to his Russian partners in the energy sector.
GECF members formalized the institution in Moscow to coordinate efforts among major natural gas producers. The GECF was envisaged in Tehran in 2001.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told the delegation the area of cheap natural gas was over.
“Gas OPEC can affect future political developments in Iran’s favor and increase its influence in the eastern half of Europe,“ Majlis Foreign Policy and National Security Committee member Eivaz Heidarpour said Saturday.
“Since Iran proposed the formation of this organization, naturally it is deemed as one of the pillars of it,“ he told Fars News Agency.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei proposed the idea of setting up an organization of gas cooperation like OPEC in 2007.
Heidarpour also said the European countries are concerned about the emergence of the gas grouping as it will make the Muslim world, particularly the Middle East, more influential on the international stage.
“As economy plays a vital role in politics, the organization will give its member states more political clout and this will ease the pressure imposed on Iran by the Western powers,“ Heidarpour noted.
Iran has added energy to the quiver of its diplomatic and political arrows. Its advance to the global gas market could disrupt the current balance of interests forever.
If a marker is to be put down, the turning point came on March 17 when Iran and Switzerland signed a 25-year gas deal. According to the Swiss government, the deal between Elektrizitats-Gesselschaft Laufenburg and the National Iranian Gas Export Company is worth $42 billion. It is the first of its kind in the recent past in which a European energy company has actually signed a firm contract with Iran.
That the deal signified a watershed in the geopolitics of energy security was apparent from the presence of Mottaki and visiting Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey at the signing ceremony in Tehran. Indeed, Calmy-Rey acknowledged that Switzerland has a strategic interest to secure our gas supplies and diversify our gas suppliers.
Looking ahead, the Financial Times said, “Following the Swiss-Iranian deal, some European leaders have voiced concern about new investment in LNG, the sector in which groups such as Total, Royal Dutch Shell and Austria’s OMV have struck preliminary agreements with Iran but have yet to sign formal contracts.“
Iran’s Swiss deal has alerted world capitals. China has speeded up negotiations over its $16 billion gas deal over Iran’s North Pars gas field. China’s National Offshore Oil Corporation signed a memorandum last year to expand the gas reserves of the North Pars field and also purchase LNG from the output for a 25-year period.
It will be China’s second big energy deal, with the Chinese oil refinery Sinopec having signed in early March a $2 billion deal to develop Iran’s Yadavaran oil field.
Iran has multiple choices from the East and West. Principal among them is Russia’s Gazprom. To be sure, Moscow has speeded up its energy dialogue with Iran in recent weeks. On April 23, the Iranian government and Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the development of oil and gas fields, as well as investment and exploratory studies.
Gazprom’s bid is to secure the rights to develop several sites at Iran’s South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf and the North Azadegan oil deposit in southern Iran. Gazprom is already participating in the development of the South Pars’ second and third stages jointly with France’s TotalElf and Malaysia’s Petronas.

Qeshm Island retains the advantages associated with its connection to the mainland, including the rights to explore and develop oil and gas opportunities.

Foreign and Iranian investors have so far invested over $3 billion on Qeshm Island Free Trade Zone (FTZ), its manager Mohammad Asghari told reporters Saturday.
Asghari told Mehr News Agency that over $2 billion has been invested in oil, gas, and energy development projects.
Around $1.5 billion has been also invested in various fields like industry, trade, services, and tourism in a three-year period from 2006.
According to him, the construction of a 500 MW gas-fed power plant, ports and docks expansion, and six commercial, administrative, and recreational complexes are among numerous projects underway as a step toward infrastructure reinforcement.
Ahad Amirmohammadi, the president’s advisor for free trade zones and special economic zones, said Iran established 41 manufacturing and industrial units in 12 free trade zones and special economic zones between March 20 and September 21, 2008.
He added that 170 billion rials and $35 million were allocated for the projects, which created over 1,300 job opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Persian Gulf Bridge project will be financed and implemented by a consortium of Iranian and foreign companies, Asghari said on July 27.
“The 2.46-km long bridge, which will connect Bandar Abbas to Qesm FTZ, is expected to provide a rapid and secure transit route for goods to and from the island,“ he said. “If the budget required for this project is secured through the Oil Stabilization Fund, a domestic contractor will be vested with the project, otherwise we will entrust a foreign company to finance the project.“
The estimated budget required for the project is 650 million euros. He pointed to the final negotiations with Austrian investors and expressed hope the project could soon start after the cabinet’s approval.
Qeshm Island is a free trade zone, which has made it very important due to international trade. In the 1st Five-Year economic Development Plan, in note 19, the law provided for the creation of free trade zones and three locations were identified as such in the year 1991. They were Kish Island, Qeshm Island and Chabahar.
In the year 1994, upon approval by the Majlis, the provisions of these free trade zones were identified and as such, an area of 300 square kilometers on Qeshm Island received the designation of free trade zone. To that end, Qeshm Island was granted considerable leeway to set its own policies, independent of the central government, which had often been seen as an impediment to growth in many sectors of the economy.
However, the island retains the advantages associated with its connection to the mainland, including the rights to explore and develop oil and gas opportunities.
Free trade zones have been set up over the last thirty years with great success in order to serve as a bridge between local, regional and global economies.

The first domestically-made solar power plant has been inaugurated as a pilot scheme in Shiraz, Fars province, energy minister said.
Parviz Fattah told IRNA that the ministry used Iranian technology to set up the plant. According to the official, the power plant has parabolic mirrors to direct solar radiation into its solar receivers. With government support, greater investments will be made in renewable energy sources.
Solar energy refers primarily to the use of solar radiation for practical ends. All other renewable energies other than geothermal derive their energy from the sun.
Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive or active depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight. Active solar techniques use photovoltaic panels, pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into useful outputs.
Passive solar techniques include selecting materials with favorable thermal properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate air, and referencing the position of a building to the Sun. Active solar technologies increase the supply of energy and are considered supply side technologies, while passive solar technologies reduce the need for alternate resources and are generally considered demand side technologies.
Iranian agriculture also seeks to optimize the capture of solar energy in order to optimize the productivity of the plants. Techniques such as timed planting cycles, tailored row orientation, staggered heights between rows and the mixing of plant varieties can improve crop yields.

The heads of Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI) and Iraq Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control (COSQC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on promoting mutual cooperation in scientific, technical, research and educational sectors.
The main objectives behind the MoU were the necessity to supervise the exchange of goods, safeguard consumer rights, ensure product quality and facilitate bilateral trade, Fars News Agency reported.
The two sides pledged to cooperate in compiling new standards, adopt standard measures and tools, expand regional/international relations, promote research, organize seminars and remove trade barriers.
Iran exported more than $2 billion worth of goods to Iraq since January 2008. Each month, also more than 40,000 Iranians visit southern Iraq’s important Shiite sites such as the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, buying souvenirs and boosting the economy by staying in hotels.
Many pass through the south’s biggest city, Basra. It has many Iranian cultural and religious centers, and its shops are full of high-quality Iranian food, appliances and construction materials.
Statistics show that Syria accounted for 20 percent of Iraqi imports in 2008 and Turkey 21 percent. Iran, which has the longest border with Iraq than any neighboring country, falls in that range. The statistics estimates Iraq’s total imports in 2008 more than $20 billion.
Provincial tourism officials estimate that at least 22,000 Iranian pilgrims visit Najaf each month and at least 10,000 travel to Karbala. Most come on package tours.
Cities near the Iranian border have also turned to Iran to help alleviate Iraq’s chronic electricity shortage. Iranian goods have proliferated throughout Iraq. White Peugeot sedans that began rolling out of Iranian factories in 2005 are sold everywhere in Iraq--Iranian companies offer attractive financing packages to Iraqi sellers.
In the far south, Basra imports $45 million of goods from Iran each year, from carpets to construction materials to fish and spices. Each day, 100 to 150 commercial trucks drive from Iran to Iraq at the nearby Shalamcheh border crossing. In the north, Kurdish officials say trade has equally boomed.
Trade between Iran and Iraq is expected to reach $4 billion this year as economic cooperation continues to rise. The prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan regional government, Nechirvan Barzani, said, “Iraq needs Iran’s help to reconstruct and develop the country. We seek to increase Iranian investments in Iraq.“

Iran is the exclusive producer of train rails in the Middle East, the managing director of Isfahan Steel Company (ESC) said.
Bahram Sobhani said for the time being only four companies across the world are certified to manufacture train rails.
An agreement between the ESC and the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Company was signed on Saturday for the production of U-33 standard train rails.
The agreement was inked in the presence of Roads and Transportation Minister Hamid Behbahani, IRIB reported.
Under the deal, in the first stage the company will provide the railway company with 20,000 tons of standard rail by early February. In the second stage, the company will allocate $100 million to establish a rail assembly line with an annual production of 200,000.
The production capacity is expected to hit 600,000 tons per year in the third stage.
Behbahani pledged to offer the ministry’s full support for domestic industries related to railway, wagon, locomotive and parts manufacturing. Pointing to the complicated process of rail track construction, he urged the steel company to establish a research laboratory.
He went on to state that it is expected to build 1300-1400 kilometers of rail track, as a step toward the target of 35,000km under the Vision of 2025.
The ESC is Iran’s major steel producer, which was granted the top brand award last Tuesday. The company has so far offered 80 percent of its shares to the private sector, in line with Article 44 of the constitution which seeks large-scale privatization. During January 19 to February 17, 2008, 531 companies were approved to be privatized of which 132 were oil firms.
Meanwhile, important bilateral trade and transport agreements have been signed in tandem with the official North-South Railway Corridor project. Iran sees itself playing a particularly active role in forging trade and market links with Central Asia. Several agreements on trade and transport projects have already been signed. A transport corridor through Turkmenistan already exists between Iran and Uzbekistan, and the development of an additional route via Afghanistan is under discussion.

Technical and engineering services exports rose to $2.70 billion in 2007, an official said.
Head of the Board of Directors of Association of Technical and Engineering Services Mohammad Reza Ansari told IRNA that the figure shows huge growth compared to the previous years.
He noted that just about $75 million worth of technical and engineering services were exported in 1995, adding that exports play a vital role in boosting the presence of the country in global markets.

Under the agreement, Tajikistan will receive 30 percent of TethysÕ natural gas output, with the figure rising to 50 percent once Tethys recoups its costs.

While the former Soviet republics surrounding the Caspian Sea--Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan--have been the object of intense struggle between Moscow and Washington since the collapse of communism in 1991 in their new energy “Great Game,“ other new former Soviet nations further east because of their geographical isolation have been largely marginalized in the contest.
Tajikistan, the poorest of the former Soviet republics, has little to show for its years of independence besides the brutal 1992-97 civil war between the former Communist leadership and militants. By its end, 50,000 were dead and the country’s economy was in tatters, UPI reported.

Tough Times Ahead
One of the few Soviet legacies left unscathed during the conflict was Tajikistan’s massive Nurek hydroelectric facility on the Vakhsh River, which epitomizes the country’s heavy dependence on hydroelectric power.
The World Bank estimates that hydroelectric power accounts for 76 percent of Tajikistan’s total energy output. Nurek alone still supplies 70 percent of Tajikistan’s power.
Last winter was brutal in Tajikistan, when despite the fact that the authorities increased water flows through its hydroelectric dams, people froze to death during the coldest winter in 50 years. This winter looks similarly severe and Tajik authorities are already projecting 15-hour daily blackouts this winter to conserve energy.

Disputes
Furthermore, hydroelectric power involves Tajikistan in interminable disputes with its western downstream neighbors. Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan want regular water flows, particularly during the spring and summer for their agriculture, while Tajikistan and its neighbor Kyrgyzstan are increasing water storage in their reservoirs to generate electricity during the autumn and winter months, disrupting agriculture and causing flooding further downstream.
Tajik and Kyrgyz attempts to get their western neighbors to either purchase water or barter it for subsidized hydrocarbon energy imports have not succeeded.

Production-Sharing Deal
Now, however, a foreign oil company is preparing to boldly go into the country. A subsidiary of Tethys Petroleum Ltd., which describes itself on its website as “Domiciled in Cayman Islands,“ Tethys Tajikistan Ltd. has been exploring for oil and gas in the mountainous nation, and on Dec. 18 Tethys Tajikistan CEO David Robson met with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to brief him on the results of their surveys.
Tethys Petroleum Ltd. is heading into an impoverished economic environment whose corruption has induced caution in other western energy firms.
The company’s website lays out its strategy, stating, “Tethys’ objective is to build a diversified oil and gas exploration and production company, initially focused on Kazakhstan and Central Asia, with a mixture of high potential exploration for longer-term upside and asset growth, coupled with short-term cash flow generative projects“.
In light of the company’s strategic objectives, on June 13, Tethys signed a contract to develop Tajik oil and natural gas fields. Following the signing ceremony, Tajik Energy and Industries Minister Gul Sherali told journalists that under the agreement Tethys received licenses for 56 gas and oil fields, including the Khoja Sartez, Uzunohor, Pushiyon and South Pushiyon gas fields, which have total estimated reserves of 1.5 trillion cubic meters.
Under the production-sharing agreement, Tajikistan receives 30 percent of Tethys’ natural gas output, with the figure rising to 50 percent once Tethys recoups its costs.
There is certainly room for growth, as Tajikistan’s oil and natural gas industry is currently almost nonexistent. The US government estimated that Tajikistan’s oil production last year was a paltry 280 barrels per day, while in 2006 Tajikistan produced only 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas, forcing it to import 44 bcf to meet domestic demand.
Robson informed Rahmon that his company had already begun producing natural gas from its Komsomol field near the capital Dushanbe and from its Khoja Sartez concession field not far from the town of Kulob, adding that both fields would begin supplying the two towns within the next few days. According to Robson, this winter Tethys Tajikistan Ltd. will supply 15,000-100,000 cubic meters of natural gas daily to Dushanbe.
Perhaps somewhat rashly, Robson assured Rahmon that his company would be able to make great strides to “fully provide“ the natural gas needs of the Tajik populace and industry by 2010, telling reporters that to achieve these goals, the import of machinery and additional technologies, as well as surveying and extraction is being carried out at a rapid pace.
Robson may have to quicken his pace if the winter is severe, as Tajikistan currently imports its natural gas from Uzbekistan. Since Uzbekistan is less than pleased with Tajikistan’s stance on water discharges, prices for Uzbek gas have been climbing steadily higher.
Before 2006, Tajikistan paid less than $50 per 1,000 cubic meters of Uzbek gas; earlier this year Dushanbe was paying $145 per 1,000 cubic meters, and Tashkent is now discussing raising the price to $300 starting next year.
Tajikistan’s growing self-sufficiency in natural gas production may actually prove to be a blessing in disguise for Tashkent, because if the country can lessen its dependency on hydroelectric power then negotiations can proceed on regularizing water discharges, which are the mainstay of Uzbekistan’s cotton crop, currently worth $1 billion annually.
For Tajikistan’s citizens, their immediate interests are more prosaic than seeing the country achieve independence in natural gas production within two years, starting with merely surviving the winter, and, as a possible bonus, having the electricity on for more than nine hours a day.

It is not possible to make subsidies targeted unless prices are adjusted, said minister of economic affairs and finance.
Shamseddin Hosseini also told reporters on Saturday that the bill on making subsidies target-oriented is ready and will be presented to Majlis officially on Tuesday for further studies, IRNA reported.
The minister noted that the probable losses incurred by households and economic enterprises should be compensated.
“But this depends on the decision and approval of lawmakers,“ he added.
Hosseini also said direct payment and other methods have been recommended in the bill on making subsidies target-oriented.
“Each of them will be implemented after MPs ratify them,“ he said.

Insurance firms would be graded next year on the basis of their capabilities, growth indices and financial supervision.
Head of Central Insurance of Iran Javad Farshbaf Maherian said on Saturday the penetration rate of insurance firms has increased annually, ISNA wrote.
He pointed out that the country aims to top the region’s insurance penetration ranking by the end of fifth five-year economic development plan (2010-15).
“This is tied to promotion of insurance market and expansion in new markets,“ he added.
Maherian called on insurance firms, along with Central Insurance of Iran, to pave the way for achieving these goals.

Iran will supply energy to Sudan in view of its dire energy need, particularly in the power plant sector, said Energy Minister Parviz Fattah.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with Sudan’s Minister of Energy and Mining Al-Zubeir Ahmed Al-Hassan and his entourage in Tehran on Saturday, Fattah said Sudan is building power plants, IRNA reported.
Both sides have shown interest in the participation of Iranian firms in Sudan’s power plant projects.
“Sudan has numerous potentials in terms of developing hydroelectric power plant projects, but it is lagging in this regard,“ he added.
Fattah hoped that the two nations would reach new agreement by the end of the Sudanese delegation’s visit.