Development projects awaiting investment in the gas sector are to be presented as a single package at an international exhibition in Kish, to be held in mid January, Shana news agency quoted a senior gas official as saying on Saturday.
The projects, which include the development of gas transfer pipelines all across the country, and the pipelines designed for gas exports to Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, and other bordering countries, are to be offered individually at the Kish exhibition, Asghar Soheilipour, head of the investment committee of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said.
The 11th Kish International Energy Exhibition will be held on the Persian Gulf island, with national and international companies attending, from January 12 to 15. This year's event is focused on investments in the energy sector and also on identifying the industry's potentials. Future investment opportunities in oil, gas, petrochemical, water, electricity, and renewable energy projects are top on the event's agenda, together with achievements of the domestic manufacturers in the related industries.
Business representatives from France, Germany, Italy, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, India, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates are among this year's participants. More than 100 companies have registered so far to take part in the four-day event. Specialized meetings and conferences on investability and investment opportunities are also scheduled, with industry experts, managers and authorities to attend the meetings on the sidelines of the exhibition.
The exhibition is organized jointly by the oil ministry, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), Tehran Manufacturing Support & Procurement Company (Kala Naft), Supplying Petrochemical Industries Parts, Equipment & Chemical Engineering Company (SPEC), the Society of Iranian Petroleum Industries Equipment Manufacturers, Iran Electrical Industry Syndicate, and the Water and Wastewater Companies Syndicate.
The NIGC requires $30 billion in investment for the completion of its projects. The project for the development of Ilam Refinery, as well as the 11th, 10th, 9th, 7th, and 6th national pipelines are among the semi-finished projects awaiting new finances.
preliminary Negotiations
Companies from France, Germany, Korea, Japan, China, and Russia have expressed willingness to invest in Iran's energy projects, Soheilipour said, adding that Mitsubishi, LG, and Samsung have already entered preliminary negotiations for construction of refineries and pipelines. Japanese and Italian companies are ready to cooperate with the NIGC even before the total lifting of sanctions by the West, he noted.
Since Russians relinquished their projects in Eastern Europe and Syria, they are now very eager to invest in Iranian energy projects, especially through providing the required funding for these projects, the official said. "Some companies proposed to start collaboration by providing $2 billion investment in advance, but the NIGC's policy requires cooperation to be carried out within a legal framework," he said, adding, "Competent companies are invited to participate in our next tenders."
Production and exports were unaffected by the sanctions imposed on Iran's energy sector, Soheilipour said. Sanctions did not significantly impede development projects, "and they even brought about self-reliance for Iranian engineers and industry specialists."
"Refineries were previously built with the help of South Korean or Japanese experts, but now they are being constructed using domestic capabilities," he added.
The US and its allies have, over the past few years, imposed an array of sanctions on Iran to curb its nuclear energy program, which they claim has military purposes. Iran insists that its program is totally peaceful. Iran and the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, and France, plus Germany) are negotiating to reach a mutually acceptable nuclear agreement by July 2015.
