Global Energy Ventures Ltd. (GEV), a Perth-based developer of global integrated compressed natural gas projects, has signed a heads of agreement with National Iranian Gas Co. (NIGC) for the sale and purchase of 240 MMcfd of natural gas to the port of Chabahar in Iran accessing the Oman Sea.
GEV plans to install compression and berthing facilities at the port to enable compressed natural gas to be loaded sequentially on to a fleet of six CNG Optimum 200 ships for delivery to India’s west coast. The scheme would collectively deliver gas equivalent to 1.5 million tonnes/year of LNG.
The plan is for GEV and NIGC to work up a legally binding 20-year termed gas supply agreement in which the gas sales price will be based on the Iranian government’s approved gas export pricing formula.
The parties have preliminary agreement on gas specification, gas delivery point, take-or-pay levels, and delivery pressure to enable commencement of port design and safety studies.
GEV Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Maurice Brand says GEV expects the project to expand from the initial volume to more than 650 MMcfd of gas in the future, which would allow GEV to supply an equivalent of 5 million tpy of LNG to Chabahar by way of marine CNG.
GEV also is in advanced negotiations on a gas-offtake heads of agreement with an investment-grade gas buyer in India.
NIGC is constructing a pipeline to connect the existing IGAT-7 pipeline to Chabahar and expects to complete this project in 2019.
Trade ties between Iran and India so far have been mostly focused on India importing Iranian crude oil. GEV says Australia has a historically long-standing trade relationship with Iran.
