Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.24 /Trend, F.Milad/
Iran plans to carry out five LNG projects using domestic resources and contractors, Iranian Oil Minster Rostam Ghasemi said on Monday.
"Iran's LNG project will come on stream at the cost of $5 billion with domestic resources, while the foreign firms had offered $10 billion for carrying out the very same project," he said.
Referring to the halt in Iran's LNG projects, the minister blamed foreign firms for just thinking about their own benefits.
In a message to Iran's LNG Forum currently underway in Tehran, Ghasemi said that, "One of the main indexes in the world energy arena is the diversity of products in the global market. As one of the major players in the field of world energy, our country enjoys this diversity."
The minister expressed hope that with the launch of 'Iran LNG' as the country's first LNG project, the Islamic Republic can play a more effective role in the world's energy market.
Iran aims to increase its share in the global gas market to 10 percent and become a major LNG supplier through the production of 70 million tons of liquefied natural gas by 2015.
According to the National Iranian Gas Export Company's marketing manager, Alireza Qasemi-Javid, seven LNG production projects are being developed in the country to reach the intended target.