TEHRAN – Belgium's Exmar is in talks with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to use its floating liquefied natural gas vessel for liquefaction and export of Iranian natural gas, Reuters reported.

NIOC said in a statement on its website it would supply natural gas for the project, led by Norway’s IFLNG which is a subsidiary of Exmar. The company is expected to use the Caribbean FLNG vessel.

The chairman of IFLNG, Gerhard Ludvigsen, confirmed the plans in an email to Reuters, however Exmar said the deal to use its vessels was the subject of ongoing negotiations.

Caribbean FLNG has a capacity to produce around 0.5 million tons of LNG per year, while the NIOC said the 20-year deal was to supply the facility with 2.3 cubic meters of gas per day.

NIOC sees the deal as a fast way for Iran to join the global LNG market.

EF/MA