The French company Sofregaz has been found guilty and its $10 million letter of guarantee confiscated and credited to the Iranian National Gas Company (NIGC), the international court has decided in response to Iran’s claim against the company, said Masoud Samivand, managing director of Iran Natural Gas Storage Company (NGSC).
The NGSC via the office of the presidency provided the court with damning evidence on the Sofregaz’s contract for the Varamin Yourtshai gas storage project, which ultimately resulted in the company’s conviction at French courts, Samivand said.
The complaint pertains to the company’s recklessness in dropping the project and failing to comply with its contractual obligations. A separate claim has been submitted to the court claiming compensation for damages, Samivand added.
The official did not, however, disclose the court in which the complaint was filed.
Sofregaz had been working on the Varamin Yourtshai project with the Iranian company since 2001. Their remit was to convert an aquifer in central Iran into an underground gas storage facility, in the proximity of main gas transport lines. The $540 million project located in Varamin, south of Tehran, has the capacity to reserve 270-540 million cubic meters of natural gas, according to Shana news agency.
