Iran faces a challenge to find export routes for surplus gas production as it approaches the completion of major capacity expansions on its giant South Pars gas field, according to the country’s deputy oil minister.

Iran has long-held plans to start exporting surplus gas to Europe, Pakistan and India, and the Gulf, but exports are currently limited to pipeline exports to Turkey and swap arrangements with Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“We expect to complete South Pars phase 12 in 2014 and phases 15-18 in 2015,” said Ali Majedi, deputy petroleum minister for international affairs and commerce, speaking at a conference in Dubai on 14 April.

“Iran faces a surplus of domestic gas and there is [currently] no way of exporting the gas,” Majedi said. “With these phases it will be a necessity to construct pipelines to export gas.”

According to Majedi, Iran will “implement and finalise” its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) project – called Iran LNG – by the end of 2015.

However, “pipeline exports are preferable to LNG exports due to lower costs and the existence of facilities and infrastructure”, the deputy oil minister added.

Two of Iran’s biggest projects for exporting gas are cross-border pipelines to Pakistan and Oman, but both options come with difficulties.

Majedi said that 80 per cent of the Iran-Pakistan pipeline was complete, but that Pakistan has not completed the section of the pipeline on its side of the border.

“Maybe this project will be postponed, but the gas is available, particularly after 2015,” he said.

Iran and Oman signed an agreement in March 2014 to build a submarine pipeline to export gas to Oman, which could be used for domestic consumption of LNG exports.

“The two countries have had some different ideas concerning the price of gas [over the years]… but we are trying to cooperate and fund a solution,” said Majedi.