Iran Plans to Build LNG Carrier

Iran has signed a deal with a German company to commission the building of an LNG carrier, Esmail Sadeqi, director of the LNG tanker construction project, said.

This will be Iran's first commissioned LNG carrier. It will be put to use in the near future when the country starts producing and exporting LNG, the Mehr news agency reported on Nov. 6.

Sadeqi added that two shipyards were being built for the construction of this ship, noting that one of the yards was 485 meters long and was therefore suitable for making even very large ships.

Iran intends to complete its LNG project in the post-sanctions era and then export LNG to various countries---European countries, in particular, the official said.

He further noted that talks have been held and preliminary agreements reached with a number of South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese companies to build LNG carriers.

Iran will produce liquid gas from associated petroleum gas (APG) at the Forouzan oil field, as called for in a contract to sell APG, which is expected to be signed soon.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, a consortium of Iranian and foreign companies will produce LNG using a process called "floating liquefied natural gas."

Director of International Affairs at National Iranian Gas Company Azizollah Ramazani said on October 31 that Iran sees different grounds for exporting natural gas to Europe.

Iran has the long-term potential to become one of the world's top gas producers, thanks to its 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, which amounts to some 18 percent of the world's total.

Iran's current raw gas output stands at 660 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d), but this figure is expected to increase to 1,100 mcm/d by 2019.