Iran NIOC LNG Terminal

Part of the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project.

Download full dataset

Report an error

Iran NIOC LNG Terminal is an LNG export terminal in Iran with units that are in construction.

Location

Table 1: Location details

Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
T1	Tombak Port, Asaluyeh County, Bushehr Province, Iran	27.476111, 52.6075 (approximate)
T2	Tombak Port, Asaluyeh County, Bushehr Province, Iran	27.476111, 52.6075 (approximate)
T3	Tombak Port, Asaluyeh County, Bushehr Province, Iran	27.476111, 52.6075 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the terminal:

Loading map...

{"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"600px","height":"500px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":7,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":27.476111,"lon":52.6075,"icon":"","inlineLabel":"T1, T2, T3\n"}]}

Project Details

Table 2: Infrastructure details

mtpa = million tonnes per year

Name	Facility type	Status	Capacity	Total terminal capacity	Offshore	Associated infrastructure
T1	export	construction	5.4 mtpa	12.3 mtpa	False	Tonbak LNG power station
T2	export	construction	5.4 mtpa	12.3 mtpa	False	Tonbak LNG power station
T3	export	construction	1.5 mtpa	12.3 mtpa	False	Tonbak LNG power station

Table 3: Cost

Name	Facility type	Cost	Total known terminal costs
T1	export	US$5,000,000,000	US$10,000,000,000
T2	export	US$5,000,000,000	US$10,000,000,000
T3	export	–	US$10,000,000,000

Financing

No financing data available.

Table 4: Project timeline

FID = Final Investment Decision, used by some developers to indicate a project will move forward

Name	Facility type	Status	Proposal year	FID year	Construction year	Operating year	Inactive year
T1	export	construction	–	–	2023	–	–
T2	export	construction	–	–	2023	–	–
T3	export	construction	–	–	2024	–	–

Ownership

Table 5: Ownership

Name	Facility type	Status	Owners	Parent companies	Operator
T1	export	construction	Saving, Welfare, & Pension Funds of Iran Petroleum Industry [50%]; Iran Petroleum Industry Pension Fund [1%]; National Iranian Oil Co [49%]	Saving, Welfare, & Pension Funds of Iran Petroleum Industry [50.0%]; National Iranian Oil Co [49.0%]; Iran Petroleum Industry Pension Fund [1.0%]	–
T2	export	construction	Saving, Welfare, & Pension Funds of Iran Petroleum Industry [50%]; Iran Petroleum Industry Pension Fund [1%]; National Iranian Oil Co [49%]	Saving, Welfare, & Pension Funds of Iran Petroleum Industry [50.0%]; National Iranian Oil Co [49.0%]; Iran Petroleum Industry Pension Fund [1.0%]	–
T3	export	construction	unknown	unknown	National Iranian Oil

Background

Iran NIOC LNG Terminal, also known as Iran LNG, is an LNG terminal under development in Bushehr Province, Iran near the South Pars/North Field gas field. Iran LNG plan includes two LNG trains each with capacity of 5.4 million tons of LNG per year.

Construction of the Iran LNG plant began in 2007. Sanctions have delayed the project.

As of the early 2010s, there had been no development updates since 2008 and the project was presumed to be cancelled.

In early 2017 French owned Total entered talks to buy a multi-billion dollar stake in the still under construction LNG. Currently the LNG has $2.3 billion in investment. It needs $10 billion to come online. Reuters reported that Total is the first major company to attempt to make a deal with Iran after sanctions. It is trying to enter the LNG market at the pre-sanctions price. In exchange, Iran NIOC can use the funds to revive the stalled project.

Revived project

In March 2023, Iran revived the project, with a planned start year of 2025. In September 2023, the construction was reportedly nearly 50% complete.

In January 2024, the company stated that the larger LNG terminal's capacity, including the 1.5 mtpa "Train 3" under construction, is planned to be 20 mtpa instead of the originally announced 10.8 mtpa.

Train 3

In January 2024, it was reported that the company intends to first commission a one-train medium-sized LNG plant with capacity of 1.5 mtpa. In January 2024, it was already under construction and was expected to be commissioned by 2026. The LNG is slated for domestic consumption as well as for export. This plant is being built at the same location of the larger Iran LNG Terminal.

South Pars/North Field

Iran and Qatar own the South Pars/North Field, the world's largest natural gas field. This field plays a central role in Qatar and Iran foreign and domestic policy.

Iran's South Pars gas field is one of the biggest gas fields in the world. Its development was stalled by years of Western sanctions beginning in 1979. The public justification for the sanctions was Iran's bid for nuclear weapons. Economic sanctions delayed Iran's oil and gas technological development substantially. The Qatar side of the field could export LNG by ship, while Iran remains unable to. As of 2017, Iran lacked the capability to freeze its natural gas into LNG in order to load onto tanker ships for export. Iran aimed to increase gas output to 1 trillion cubic meters by 2018. In 2012, before sanctions, its output was at 160.5 billion cubic meters.

In 2017 the French Owned Total signed a 20-year contract with the National Iranian Oil Company to develop phase 11 of South Pars. It become the first major Western oil company to sign an energy agreement with Iran's sanctions eased.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of LNG terminals, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.