RoydadNaft –  The chief executive of Iran Gas Transmission Company said a scenario-based, proactive approach to network management is in place, and that unity of command and consistent procedures are the most important factors in keeping gas transmission stable in sensitive parts of the country, especially the northern provinces, through the cold season.

According to Roydad Naft, Peyman Khazraei told a coordination meeting on raising the stability of the northern gas-transmission network that this year’s operating strategy is more focused than in the past. A precise assessment of technical scenarios at the ends of the pipelines, including northern Iran, is vital to keeping the network balanced and stable, he said.

Iran Gas Transmission Company is the main operating arm of gas delivery in the country. Beyond ordinary seasonal steps, every hypothetical crisis must be modeled in advance and precise control responses defined. Online monitoring of stations and stronger field oversight on the front line of operations are essential, he said.

Reliance on specialist staff and knowledge-based management produced successful passages through peak-demand days in past years, and this year, with full infrastructure readiness, the cold-season challenges will also be crossed successfully, Khazraei said.

He stressed maximum coordination between operating regions and provincial gas companies. Use of the operating capacity of designated support regions and real-time coordination with national gas dispatching are the main basis for major decisions on keeping the national gas flow stable.

Northern transmission hits a 108-million-cubic-meter daily record

Mohieddin Mofkhami, manager of Region 9 gas-transmission operations, pointed to the geography of the northern provinces and their distance from production sources in the south. Last winter, with 550 network reconfigurations, a record of 108 million cubic meters of gas a day was transmitted in the region, he said.

Turnaround programs, pipeline safety work, and higher compressor-station capacity for the cold season have been completed successfully. With operating teams posted at bottleneck points, there is full readiness to manage pressure and respond quickly to changes in demand in northern Iran.

The coordination meeting on raising the stability of the northern gas-transmission network was hosted by Region 9 and attended by headquarters managers and managers of the designated support regions (3, 4, and 8). Managers of Regions 3, 4, and 8 also reported on their actions, the latest status of facilities, and defensive plans in their areas for the coming winter.