Iran NIOC LNG Terminal

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Iran NIOC LNG Terminal, also known as Iran LNG Terminal, is an LNG terminal under construction in Bushehr Province, Iran.

As of the early 2010s, there had been no development updates since 2008 and the project was presumed to be cancelled. In March 2023, the company restarted work on the project.

Location

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Project details

Trains 1 & 2

• Operator:
• Owner: Iranian Gas Exporting Company (IGEC - 49%), Oil Industry Investment Company (OIIC - 50%), Oil Industry Pension Fund (1%)
• Parent company:
• Location: Tombak Port, Asaluyeh County, Bushehr Province, Iran
• Coordinates: 27.476111, 52.6075 (approximate)
• Type: Export
• Trains: 2
• Capacity: 10.8 mtpa, 1.55 bcfd (5.4 mtpa per train)
  • also reported: 20 mtpa for all 3 trains combined
• Cost: 10 billion USD
• Status: Construction
  • Cancelled in 2012, revived in 2023
• Start year: 2025

Train 3

• Operator: National Iranian Oil Company
• Owner:
• Parent company:
• Location: Tombak Port, Asaluyeh County, Bushehr Province, Iran
• Coordinates: 27.476111, 52.6075 (approximate)
• Type: Export
• Trains: 1
• Capacity: 1.5 mtpa
• Cost:
• Status: Construction
• Start year: 2026

Background

Iran NIOC LNG Terminal, also known as Iran LNG, is an LNG terminal under development in Bushehr Province, Iran near the South Pars/North Field gas field. Iran LNG plan includes two LNG trains each with capacity of 5.4 million tons of LNG per year.

Construction of the Iran LNG plant began in 2007. Sanctions have delayed the project.

In early 2017 French owned Total entered talks to buy a multi-billion dollar stake in the still under construction LNG. Currently the LNG has $2.3 billion in investment. It needs $10 billion to come online. Reuters reported that Total is the first major company to attempt to make a deal with Iran after sanctions. It is trying to enter the LNG market at the pre-sanctions price. In exchange, Iran NIOC can use the funds to revive the stalled project.

As of the early 2010s, there had been no development updates since 2008 and the project was presumed to be cancelled.

Revived project

In March 2023, Iran revived the project, with a planned start year of 2025. In September 2023, the construction was reportedly nearly 50% complete.

In January 2024, the company stated that the larger LNG terminal's capacity, including the 1.5 mtpa "Train 3" under construction, is planned to be 20 mtpa instead of the originally announced 10.8 mtpa.

Train 3

In January 2024, it was reported that the company intends to first commission a one-train medium-sized LNG plant with capacity of 1.5 mtpa. In January 2024, it was already under construction and was expected to be commissioned by 2026. The LNG is slated for domestic consumption as well as for export. This plant is being built at the same location of the larger Iran LNG Terminal.

South Pars/North Field

Iran and Qatar own the South Pars/North Field, the world's largest natural gas field. This field plays a central role in Qatar and Iran foreign and domestic policy.

Iran's South Pars gas field is one of the biggest gas fields in the world. Its development was stalled by years of Western sanctions beginning in 1979. The public justification for the sanctions was Iran's bid for nuclear weapons. Economic sanctions delayed Iran's oil and gas technological development substantially. The Qatar side of the field could export LNG by ship, while Iran remains unable to. As of 2017, Iran lacked the capability to freeze its natural gas into LNG in order to load onto tanker ships for export. Iran aimed to increase gas output to 1 trillion cubic meters by 2018. In 2012, before sanctions, its output was at 160.5 billion cubic meters.

In 2017 the French Owned Total signed a 20-year contract with the National Iranian Oil Company to develop phase 11 of South Pars. It become the first major Western oil company to sign an energy agreement with Iran's sanctions eased.