Iran plans to give half of the 40 percent of stake held by France’s Total in the stalled Pars LNG project to potential buyers of liquefied natural gas, a senior National Iranian Gas Exports Company (NIGEC) official said Friday, citing the delay in a final investment decision by the French major, Platts wrote.
“Currently, 50 percent of the project’s shares belong to National Iranian Gas Exports Company, 40 percent to France’s Total and 10 percent to Malaysia’s Petronas,“ NIGEC’s director of investments and participation, Javad Abhari Ahmadi said.
“It seems that 20 percent of the shares which could be handed over are basically from Total’s shares,“ Abhari Ahmadi said.
Total reached an agreement with Iran in February 2004 for the development of phase XI of the giant South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf.
However, Total has not presented a final investment decision (FID), with Iran rejecting an initial cost estimate as too high. Tehran has already warned that it would not wait indefinitely and has set a deadline for Total to commit to the project or risk losing out to other interested parties.
Iran has officially given Total until June to finalize the deal but Abhari Ahmadi said the deadline was ’the end of February’.
Total CEO Christophe de Margerie said at the end of October that talks to resolve the contractual dispute with Iran over the Pars LNG project were making little progress.
Asked about the status of the negotiations, de Margerie said, “I don’t think they are extremely active.“ He said the anticipated capital expenditure for the total project was $12 billion-$14 billion.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari has said that Iran rejected an estimate of $11.2 billion submitted by Total.
Iran, the second-biggest oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia and holder of the second-largest gas reserves after Russia, has approached potential investors in Asia, its main oil export market, to help finance oil and gas projects. Western multinationals have become increasingly wary of investing in Iran’s energy projects because of the threat of US sanctions and pressure from their own governments, as is the case with Total.
“We seek to bring some of the LNG buyers which are interested in having small shares in the project,“ said Abhari Ahmadi.
The project, also called Pars LNG, targets production of around 58 million cubic meters/day of sour gas to feed two 10 million mt/year LNG units. It will also produce 70,000 b/d of condensates.

Head of Privatization Organization has said over 120 trillion rials worth of shares of state companies were floated in the stock exchange in the current year to March 2008.
Gholamreza Heidari Kord-Zangeneh told reporters that privatization of government firms in line with Article 44 of the Constitution, which seeks large-scale privatization in key economic areas and downsizing the government, has posted a significant growth this year compared with the year to March 2007.
Value of shares ceded has been double the revenues set in the Budget Law for fiscal year 2007-08, he said, predicting that the amount would increase as giant companies will join the bourse by March 21, Fars news agency reported.
Preparations are being made for shares of two petrochemical companies, Amir Kabir and Razi as well as Iran Aluminum Company (Iralco) to be transferred to the private sector within the next month.
Buyers showed no interest twice before to buy shares of Iralco in block in November.
Some 33 million Iralco shares found no buyers on November 27 since no investor was able to pay over 550 billion rials in cash for purchasing such a large number of shares in block. The shares which constituted 20 percent of total Iralco stocks were priced 16,900 rials each. As a result the shares will be offered gradually in the stock exchange in two 10-percent blocks.
Shares of the major aluminum manufacturing company, Iralco, were floated for the first time in the stock exchange on June 11.
Three percent of equities of highly-profitable company were offered in the stock exchange to evaluate the prices. The company produces 54 percent of country’s total aluminum.
In addition to these two companies, shares of National Iranian Copper Industries Company, Khuzestan Steel Company, Khorasan Steel Company and Power Plant Projects Management Company were floated in the stock exchange for price evaluation.
Meanwhile, Heidari Kord-Zangeneh stated that Saderat and Mellat banks are ready to join the stock market, while final touches are being put on privatizing Tejarat Bank.

Iran produced 10 million tons of steel in 2007.

According to a recent report by International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI), Iran ranked 20th in global raw steel production in 2007.
According to Fars news agency, over 10 million tons of steel were produced in Iran in 2007. IISI has announced that world crude steel output reached 1,343.5 million tons for the year 2007. This shows an increase of 7.5 percent from the figures for 2006. The total represents the highest level of crude steel output in history and it is the fifth consecutive year that world crude steel production grew by more than 7 percent.
The report put Iran’s steel production at 9.8 million tons in 2006.
China with 489 million tons, Japan (120 million tons) and the United States (97 million tons) were the world’s top three steel producing countries, respectively in 2007.
Russia (72 million tons), the Netherlands (53 million tons), South Korea (51 million tons), Germany (48 million tons), Ukraine (42 million tons), Brazil (34 million tons) and Italy (32 million tons) were the other steel producing countries in 2007.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia posted the largest growth (16.8 percent) in 2007, followed by China (15.7 percent) and the Netherlands (15.6 percent).
“Iran ranked 27th in terms of production growth,“ the report concluded.

Qeshm stretches over a landmass of 1,500 square kilometers, over twice the area of Bahrain and nearly three times bigger than Singapore. .

Close to 12,000 merchant vessels and oil tankers, destined for Persian Gulf states, pass Hormuz Strait annually, said managing director of Qeshm Free Trade Zone Organization.
Mohammad Asghari told IRNA that if Qeshm Free Zone can manage to supply fuel for the ships, it will be to their advantage given the shorter distance compared to UAE’s Fujairah port (which currently supplies fuel to the ships). The initiative will also bring huge profits for the country.
The official referred to expansion of Qeshm Airport, construction of Persian Gulf Bridge, supplying fuel for passing ships, oil, gas, petrochemical industries as well as water and wastewater schemes as projects which are open for domestic and foreign investors.
Regarding the expansion of Qeshm Airport, he said that foreign finance for the projects has been approved by High Economic Council and permits have been issued.
Negotiations have been held with Austrian investors on the Persian Gulf bridge project. Once the project is implemented, the region will witness a revolution in terms of cargo handled and passenger numbers, he asserted.
Qeshm island plays a major role in Vision 2025 given its strategic location in the north of Hormuz Strait, he added.
Given the favorable location of Qeshm Free Trade Zone, it can play a major role in enforcing security, conducting commercial transactions and earning huge profits for the country, Asghari opined.
This is tied to adopting proper laws and regulations and collaboration of all organizations and bodies to prepare the infrastructures, he added.
Once grounds are created, Qeshm Free Trade Zone can contribute largely to the development of large industries.
As the largest Persian Gulf island, Qeshm stretches over a landmass of 1,500 square kilometers, over twice the area of Bahrain and nearly three times bigger than Singapore.
The island has a population of approximately 100,000 living in the town of Qeshm and adjoining villages.

Vehicles are to undergo noise pollution tests at tune-up centers from March 20, disclosed the director general of Department of Environment’s Air Pollution Studies Division.
Mohammadreza Monazzam told Fars news agency that the tune-up centers should be equipped with noise pollution evaluation systems for assessing the noise pollution level in vehicles.
He pointed out that noise pollution is usually the outcome of improper function of the engine and exhaust system.
Given that the permissible level of noise pollution including those created by running car engines, exhaust and horn as well as the anti-theft system installed on vehicles have been specified, DoE will seriously supervise the implementation of standards as of March 20.
Highlighting that new cars would be evaluated in terms of noise pollution from March 20, he said that his office has been in contact with auto manufacturing companies in this respect.
Noise Pollution Department announced earlier that all Tehran streets have high noise pollution which officials believe has also become as critical as air pollution.
Experts warn that the human body’s reaction to loud noise is similar to that experienced while encountering dangerous animals, ISNA reported.
Air Quality Control Company has warned that installation of noise barriers should precede construction of highways.
The sources of noise in Tehran are road, rail and air transportation, as well as urban construction projects. The best solution for measuring noise pollution is using computer software, specifying crisis spots and then giving control solutions.
Using special tarmac, planting trees in urban areas, implementing relevant regulations in constructions and preventing heavy vehicles from plying narrow streets are considered as solutions to controlling noise pollution.