(BQ)
An Indian consortium is willing to spend as much as $11 billion to develop a giant Iranian natural gas field and build the infrastructure to export the fuel as long as the Persian Gulf nation guarantees a “reasonable return” on the project, according to the company leading the group.
ONGC Videsh Ltd. has offered to invest as much as $6 billion on the Farzad-B field and spend the remaining amount to build a liquefied natural gas export facility, according to Narendra Kumar Verma, managing director of the overseas investment unit of India’s largest explorer, Oil & Natural Gas Corp. The group is seeking a return of about 18 percent, and Indian companies are willing to buy all the gas exported from the project, Verma said.
“We have given our best offer to them. Now, it is up to them to agree or not agree,” Verma said in a phone interview. “We have told the Iranian authorities very clearly that some basic returns are necessary.”
As India, the world’s fourth-largest LNG buyer, seeks to lock up gas resources to meet growing demand and spur the use of cleaner-burning fuels, Iran is emerging from sanctions that stifled investment in its energy sector. The Persian Gulf nation on Monday plans to sign a formal contract with Total SA and China National Petroleum Corp. to develop its share of the offshore South Pars project, the world’s biggest natural gas field.
