Italian company ‘Enel Trade’ in Tehran signed on Tue. an agreement for purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran.
During the visit of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to Tehran on Tuesday, managers of Italy’s Enel Trade and National Iranian Gas Export Co. signed an MoU that once finalized, will make Italy a client of Iran’s LNG.
Iran, so far unable to have its shares in the LNG market due to sanctions, is planning to make its presence known in new gas markets through signing contracts with international reputable companies.
According to Alireza Kameli, Director General of National Iranian Gas Export Co., the MoU was signed in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
“The signing of the MoU with Enel Trade was the result of several months of negotiations with the Italian company and evaluating the potentials for long-term supply, information exchange, cooperation in the field of gas and LNG, as well as making use of benefits offered by educational courses between the two countries,” Kameli said.
He went on to add that Iran could export LNG to Italy in the long run provided that the country implemented various LNG projects and paved the ground for entering the LNG market.
As of yet, three LNG projects, including ‘Persian’, ‘Iran’ and ‘Pars’, have been established in the country, but Pars and Persian have stopped due to sanctions. Officials at National Iranian Gas Export Co. have announced that the removal of sanctions will further expedite the process of Iran’s LNG projects which are over 50 percent in progress.