Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 17
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran has reached a preliminary agreement with the Dutch natural gas transport grid operator Gasunie to cooperate in gas industry safety.
An initial agreement has been reached with the state-run Gasunie company on improving safety across Iranian gas industry’s facilities, Mohammad Reza Yousefipour, the director of the environmental, health and safety department of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said, Mehr news agency reported Sept. 17.
The NIGC has held similar talks with various European companies including French Sofregas, the British KBC and German IBS, he added.
“Talks were also held with Royal Dutch Shell and DNV GL on the issue,” he said.
Experts from the firms visited Iranian gas industry facilities, however talks with the Dutch Gasunie were more serious and fruitful compared to the negotiations with other European companies, Yousefipour said.
The two sides are expected to start talks to finalize a deal after the Dutch company presented its comprehensive plan, the Iranian official added.
Last year Yousefipour said that the IBS has agreed to present its technical and price offers to Iran on improving safety in Iranian gas industry, a project which is estimated to take a period of three years and will involve the training of some 100 Iranian experts.
However, it seems that the sides have failed to reach any final agreement and Iran has decided to cooperate with the Dutch firm.