Poland covets oil, gas prospects in Iran
Poland's state-run gas distributor PGNiG says it is examining oil and gas exploration and production opportunities in Iran ahead of the much-expected lifting of Western sanctions on Tehran.
"We are interested in the Iranian market and we are considering various business configurations there,” the Reuters news agency quoted PGNiG's CEO Mariusz Zawisza as saying.
“We have an office in Iran and are at the stage of examining that market," he added.
PGNiG is expecting capital expenditure of around $1.08 billion this year. Russia's Gazprom is the Polish company’s biggest gas supplier.
Iran is courting foreign investment in its oil and gas sector whose reserves combined are the world’s largest.
The country hosted leaders of gas exporting countries in a Tehran summit Monday to chart out the path forward for pricing and supplies.
Addressing the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), President Hassan Rouhani said Iran is seeking to double its gas production to 1.3 billion cubic meters (bcm) in the next two years.
"I invite the leaders of the countries in this group to partner with Iran and invest in developing Iran's gas resources for mutual benefit," he said.
Rouhani said Iran has been working to increase its gas production capacity via pipelines to neighboring countries or liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments for the past two years when the country was under the most intense sanctions ever.
The imminent lifting of sanctions under a July nuclear accord has triggered a wave of interest among international companies, which Tehran also wants to use to boost its market profile.
"Iran is ready to play a bigger role in the supply of gas," Rouhani said.
Tehran is about to host executives of major energy companies on Nov. 28-29 to unveil its new framework for oil and gas development operations in Iran.
Officials plan to unveil about 50 projects worth $185 billion, including a combination of brown and green fields as well as exploration blocks up for development.
Rouhani said, "The preparatory stages have been completed by the government so that the needed investments will be made."
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