TEHRAN, Jan. 12 (MNA) Iran has purchased via private sector 12 new and second-hand tanker ships to carry LPG as a new tactic to save its gas markets.Last year, Irans LPG production capacity soared from modest 5,000 tons to 6500 tons with entering of new oil and gas refineries of Shazand, Fajr, Jam, and Lavan, making Iran as major exporter of gas, and self-sufficient in terms of importing gas.
Beginning in last May, Iran has delivered several tankers of LPG to customers from South Korea, China, and other southeast-Asian countries; even Iran stopped gas transit from Caspian basin countries, especially Turkmenistan and Iraq so that it could save its gas markets.
Nevertheless, Iran has been facing challenges to export its LPG with sanctions still on place, which would raise the cost of transactions in the sea, one such challenge being the lack of tanker ships to carry LPG. Faced with such restrictions on sea transport of gas to Asian destinations, Iran set in the agenda purchase of new and second-hand ship tankers.
An oil ministry official told Mehr News today the ministry had equipped its convoy of oil tankers with 12 new tanker ships of LPG transportation. The majority of these tankers have been purchased by private sector, he added, with this number of tankers entering the transport route minimizes the restrictions on transport of LPG.
We predict that a number of other tanker ships purchased by the private sector add to the transport capability of the sea convoy, the official said. International observer institutes statistics indicate that Iran had been exporting 200,000 barrels of LPG per day; however its oil exports had been in a steep decline path since the beginning of the year (March 21 2013).
By Mehr News Agency
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