ORAN . by Benoit Faucon - Dow Jones Newswires
The statement underscores the challenge faced by a forum of gas producers after they agreed to link their prices to oil.
In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Ali Khayrandish, general manager of the Iran LNG project, said Asian buyers--including from China--are in talks to buy its liquefied-natural-gas and say they "need fixed prices along with an element of parity." That is because they see oil prices reaching $100 a barrel, he said, which compares with about $80 a barrel at present.
In contrast, potential buyers from Europe want "total parity with the oil price" because they see it staying below $100 a barrel, Khayrandish said. He said Iran LNG is in talks with four European countries but didn"t name them.
Iran LNG, which will be Iran"s first liquefied natural gas project when it makes its first delivery, "is on track for 2012," the executive said.
He said the project is 34% complete, a level which should reach 50% to 55% at the end of the year.
When it starts, Iran LNG should produce 25% of its total capacity of 10.5 million tons a year, or about 2.6 million tons a year, he said.
Unlike most large oil and gas projects, Iran LNG is not majority-owned by a state company.
The government stake of 49% is set to fall to 20%, Khayrandish said.
The executive said "we need to make the private sector powerful," he said. "We want to show that the Iranian private sector can go to work to the biggest markers in the world," he added.
Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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