Germany’s Linde Group will build the first FLNG (Floating Liquefied Natural Gas) facility in Iran, Iran’s oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said.
Zanganeh said that building LNG-producing facility in line with exports of LNG to European countries is a priority for the ministry. Currently, it has a 60-per cent physical growth and when completed, it will add to the 10.5 million metric tons of LNG annually, reports MNA.
On the issue of seizing [by German authorities] of LNG facility equipment in Germany, minister said that German Linde Group would deliver the facility equipment when removal of sanctions took effect.
“Building of a floating LNG producing facility is in the current agenda, to which the gas from Forouzan oil rig will contribute as feed; we do not have plans to buy or lease an oil tanker, and a foreign contractor will provide the facilities,” Zanganeh asserted.
“Iran has the capacity to produce 12.5-13 million metric tons of LNG post-JCPOA; even with plummeting oil and gas prices, no issue will rise about Iran’s LNG markets,” he added.
Recently, Linde Chief Executive Wolfgang Buchele has just returned from a visit to Tehran where he said his company will “definitely” transfer technology to Iran to carry out petrochemical projects once sanctions are lifted on the country.
Buchele reminded that Linde is “one of the biggest players in the global market” in the LNG industry, saying the company is ready to resume its “legitimate presence in Iran as soon as Western sanctions are lifted.
Earlier, Zanganeh discussed the 'Iran LNG' project with Germany’s Linde AG during his visit to Germany. Talks were aimed at finding a way to supply the project with equipment, which had been banned after EU imposed sanctions against the Iranian oil industry. Linde refused to supply needed equipment for Iran's giant LNG project in 2010.
In September, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh discussed LNG supply to Spanish terminals and from there to other European destinations. Later that month, LNG exports were discussed with a Polish delegation in Tehran.
Speculations suggest Iran has the capacity to supply 25-30 billion cubic meters of gas a year to Europe in the post-sanctions period. Iranian officials say gas exports, including LNG, should rise to 80 billion cubic meters per year by 2021.
