Siemens to Supply Iran with Gas Turbines
German industrial group Siemens has signed an agreement with Iran’s power and infrastructure group Mapna to export two F-class gas turbines and to provide the technology of gas turbine manufacturing to the Islamic Republic.
According to the agreement, signed on March 2, Siemens and Mapna will cooperate to manufacture above 20 gas turbines and associated generators during next decade as well.
The agreement was made official after a ceremony in Berlin, Mapna said in a statement. The ceremony was attended by Iran’s Minister of Power, Hamid Chitchian, and Germany’s Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, Sigmar Gabriel.
Two F-class gas turbines would be used at a power plant in Bandar Abbas, a city in southern Iran.
Following the signing of the agreement, Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser, who travelled to Iran last week, said that with these important agreements, Siemens had resumed its long-term energy partnership with Mapna, Reuters reports.
Siemens suspended its cooperation with Iran in 2010 due to sanctions, but has resumed that cooperation in recent months. In February, Siemens was finally able to deliver 30 gas compressors that were intended for the South Pars gas project. The equipment had not been delivered to Iran as a result of the sanctions.
The delivery of the new turbines should help Iran to work towards its previous power generation goals that were hindered by sanctions. According to Iran’s 5th development plan (2010-2015), the country had planned to increase power generation by 5% annually; however, last year the increase was less than 1% .
According to the latest statistics, released by Iran's energy ministry, the country’s power generation capacity stood at 73.761 GW on February 25, about 0.6 GW more than the same day in 2015.
Iran Desk