Iran is wasting no time looking to build up its natural gas industry now that it is free of international sanctions, inviting some of the world's gas industry leaders to Tehran to seek cooperation.
The Islamic Republic is working quickly to raise its gas production and export capacity -- its medium-term target is to achieve production of 360 Bcm/year by 2020 and export capacity of around 130 Bcm/year after that.
Experts are skeptical, but Iran is looking to the best in the business to help it move forward.
On Monday, the state-owned National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) met with Russia's Gazprom and discussed ways to expand ties, according to the Iranian energy ministry news service Shana.
Saeed Pakseresht, NIGC director of research and technology, told Shana that the two sides talked about ways "to boost cooperation", especially in the area of gas transmission and distribution networks.
Gazprom operates the world's biggest network of gas pipeline infrastructure, so Iran was interested in "closer cooperation" in the area, Pakseresht said.
As well as seeking Russian expertise, Tehran has also reached out to Ukraine for help with gas storage developments.
Ukraine is home to some of the world's largest underground gas storage facilities, capable of holding 31 Bcm of gas.
A delegation from Ukraine's foreign ministry met with the Iranian energy ministry in Tehran Monday.
"They have also voiced readiness to invest in gas storage initiatives in Iran," Amir Hossein Zamaninia, Iran's deputy petroleum minister in international affairs and trading, said after meeting with Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin.
Zamaninia said Ukraine had significant experience in operating gas storage facilities.
He added that Iran and Ukraine had agreed to form a consortium consisting of both European companies with Iranian private companies to develop energy projects jointly.
Underlining a closer cooperation in the future, Klimkin also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the weekend to discuss closer ties in all fields, not just energy, Shana reported.
LNG PROJECTS
Zamaninia also met with Lithuania's deputy energy minister Aleksandras Spruogis to discuss LNG developments.
He said that during the meeting Lithuania offered investment and technological assistance Iran.
"Lithuania is interested in cooperation and investment in Iran's LNG sector," Zamaninia said.
Lithuania's LNG expertise is fundamentally in the import arena -- it began importing LNG at the end of 2014 after it acquired a floating storage and regasification unit to moor off its Baltic coast.
And with its new LNG import facility holding plenty of spare capacity, Lithuania hopes to be able to become a bigger regional supplier of gas, reaching its Baltic neighbors and Poland in the coming years.
Up until the start of LNG imports, Lithuania and its neighbors had been effectively 100% dependent on Russian gas supplies -- and that lack of optionality meant Russia could push the price up as high as it liked.
Iran has ambitions to develop a number of LNG export facilities -- using floating LNG production technologies -- to speed its access to new markets worldwide.
