Iran Steps On The Gas And Bypasses Trump

- Weixin Zha and Kelly Gilblom

Iran is hard at work gaining a foothold in the global energy market, and it’s not letting US President Donald Trump’s confrontational tone stop it from trying.

Political rhetoric is unlikely to turn into tangible impediments for Iran’s ambition to join Russia and Norway in the ranks of major gas exporters, according to Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia.

The nation has about $7 trillion worth of gas reserves sitting underground, based on European benchmark prices, and its doors are open to those who will help it cash in on the fortune. Zamaninia thinks those sorts of figures mean the business case for Iranian energy is too tempting for the world to pass up, even as its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Trump exchange barbs.

The country may need as much as $100 billion to develop its gas business, but estimates vary widely. Majors from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Total SA agreed to assess oil or gas fields in Iran last year, but no deals have been signed yet. Total plans to sign a contract if Iran respects an international nuclear treaty and if the US sticks to it, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said in an interview. Austria’s OMV AG has said Iran’s gas market is “a big opportunity.”