Danish Companies Seek Energy Contracts

  Denmark’s ambassador to Tehran has called for strengthening oil and gas ties with Iran, signaling the readiness of Danish companies to return to Iran's petroleum industry.

Danny Annan, who accompanied a visiting energy and trade delegation, made the statement on the sidelines of a meeting with Seyyed Morteza Emami, executive director of Industrial Projects Management of Iran (IPMI), in Tehran.

“Danish companies look for win-win contracts in Iran's energy sector,” Annan was quoted as saying by Shana, the Oil Ministry news agency.

Referring to the growing bilateral trade in the post-sanctions era, Annan said Danish exports to Iran increased by 78% over the past year, hoping that the cooperation would expand further.

“As opportunities have been provided for foreign firms in Iran after the removal of international sanctions, we are prepared to collaborate with Iran in technology transfer.”

The Danish team included representatives from oil and gas companies, most of which operate in North Sea energy projects.

Emami said that many international oil and gas giants, including France's Total, Italian Eni, Shell and BP have shown interest in Iran’s lucrative energy sector.

The IPMI head added that the country’s new model of contracts for oil and gas projects, known as Iran Petroleum Contract, is designed to ease foreign investors’ presence in Iran, stressing the need for $200 billion in investments.

IPC is an upgraded version of the unappealing buyback model that was used as the primary framework to develop most oil and gas projects in Iran for two decades.

“Today’s meeting was the first step toward increasing cooperation between Danish companies and IPMI. We hope the two sides will soon start talks over joint ventures,” he said.

IPMI is one of the 11 domestic companies approved by the Oil Ministry to partner with international companies in oil and gas projects under the IPC terms.

  Interest in Offshore Projects

The Danish envoy said Denmark's oil and gas companies had earlier been active in and familiar with the Middle East's energy market due to vast exploration and production operations in the region. Danish companies have signaled their interest in resuming ties with Iran over the past few months.

Haldor Topsoe, a global technology, catalyst and services vendor to the petrochemical and refining industries, officially opened its Tehran office in September.

According to reports, over 50% of the ammonia used for fertilizer on a worldwide scale is produced with the help of Haldor Topsoe technology. Gholamreza Manouchehri, deputy head of National Iranian Oil Company, said last month that negotiations were underway with Danish conglomerate Maersk Group to undertake the second phase of the South Pars Gas Field's oil layer development project.

“Due to the layer's complicated geological structure, advanced horizontal drilling technology is required to tap into the resources, which necessitates cooperation with Maersk,” he said.