Iran NIOC LNG Terminal

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Iran NIOC LNG Terminal is an LNG terminal under development in Bushehr Province, Iran. There have been no development updates in over two years and the project is presumed to be shelved.

Location

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Project Details

  • Owner: National Iranian Oil Company
  • Location: Tombak Port, Asaluyeh County, Bushehr Province, Iran
  • Coordinates: 27.476111, 52.6075 (approximate)
  • Capacity: 10.8 mtpa, 1.55 bcfd (2 trains with 5.4 mtpa each)
  • Status: Shelved
  • Type: Export
  • Trains: 2
  • Start Year:

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

Iran NIOC LNG Terminal, also known as Iran LNG, is an LNG terminal under development in Bushehr Province, Iran near the South Pars/North Field gas field.[1]

Iran LNG plan includes two LNG trains each with capacity of 5.4 million tons of LNG per year.

Construction of the Iran LNG plant began in 2007. Sanctions have delayed the project.[2]

In early 2017 French owned Total entered talks to buy a multi-billion dollar stake in the still under construction LNG. Currently the LNG has $2.3 billion in investment. It needs $10 to come online. Reuters reported that Total is the first major company to attempt to make a deal with Iran after sanctions. It is trying to enter the LNG market at the pre-sanctions price. In exchange, Iran NIOC can use the funds to revive the stalled project.[3]

There have been no development updates in over two years and the project is presumed to be shelved.

South Pars/North Field

Iran and Qatar own the South Pars/North Field, the world's largest natural gas field. This field plays a central role in Qatar and Iran foreign and domestic policy.[4]

Iran's South Pars gas field is one of the biggest gas fields in the world. Its development was stalled by years of Western sanctions beginning in 1979. The public justification for the sanctions was Iran's bid for nuclear weapons.[5] Economic sanctions delayed Iran's oil and gas technological development substantially.[4] The Qatar side of the field could export LNG by ship, while Iran remains unable to.[6] As of 2017, Iran lacked the capability to freeze its natural gas into LNG in order to load onto tanker ships for export. Iran aimed to increase gas output to 1 trillion cubic meters by 2018. In 2012, before sanctions, its output was at 160.5 billion cubic meters.[7]

In 2017 the French Owned Total signed a 20-year contract with the National Iranian Oil Company to develop phase 11 of South Pars.[4] It become the first major Western oil company to sign an energy agreement with Iran's sanctions eased.

Articles and resources

References

  1. Iran NIOC LNG Terminal, Wikipedia, accessed April 2017
  2. Reuters Staff,"Iran aims to export first LNG in late 2010," Reuters, May 26, 2008.
  3. Oleg Vukmanovic and Bate Felix,Total in talks to buy Iranian LNG project: sources Reuters, February 27, 2017.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Susan Kurdli,The energy factor in the GCC crisis Al Jazeera, July 28, 2017.
  5. Bate Felix, France's Total seeks stake in $4 billion Iranian gas field project Reuters, March 17, 2017.
  6. Juan Cole, Is the Saudi Boycott of Qatar Driving It into the Arms of Iran? The Nation, July 28, 2017.
  7. Oleg Vukmanovic and Bate Felix Geoscience warns of supply issues for 20-year LNG contracts Reuters, February 27, 2017.

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