Iran expands VLCC fleet
The Islamic Republic of Iran's Shipping Lines will take delivery of three new oil supertankers in the first-quarter of 2009, boosting its fleet by 12 percent, a senior company official said. According to ISNA, Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil exporter and operates 25 supertankers which can each hold two million barrels of oil. The new tankers are part of the National Iranian Tanker Company's (NITC)National Iranian Tanker Company's (NITC) nearly $2 billion plan to boost its very large crude carrier (VLCC) fleet to 38 supertankers to meet growing demand for oil shipping, its commercial director Seyyed Habibollahi said.
"We ordered about 10 VLCCs last year and we will take delivery of these between 2010 and 2011 as part of our efforts to become a global shipping company."
"NITC would also be taking delivery early next year of one new Suezmax oil tanker capable of holding up to 1 million barrels. South Korean shipyards built all the vessels due to arrive in early 2009," Seyyed Habibollahi added.
Despite sanctions from the West and US pressure on financial institutions to stay away from Iran, Tehran secured financing for its fleet expansion from several European and Asian banks. BNP Paribas of France acted as lead financier.
Iran sits on 11 percent of the world's oil reserves and has the world's second-largest gas reserves. It pumps about 4 million barrels per day to world markets, with roughly 60 percent bound for Asia and the remaining headed for Europe.
Seyyed Habibollahi said the recent support for supertanker freight rates were partly due to the demand for floating storage facilities in the US Gulf Coast and the North Sea.
"Yes if the freight rates stay at this level we will be happy, not lower," he said.
Oil majors and independent trading houses are storing at least 24 million barrels of crude on oil tankers around the world. The rush to book oil tankers for floating storage has helped to push up crude freight rates on major export routes.
"The shipping firm is still considering a plan to order up to 30 new liquefied natural gas carriers (LNG)," Seyyed Habibollahi said. "We are not making any orders yet," he said, but did not offer more details.
NITC has said it wanted to build an LNG fleet to match Iran's LNG export plans. But US has sought to deter investment by international energy firms capable of building LNG export plants.
Iranian officials have dismissed US sanctions as ineffective, saying that they are finding Asian partners instead. Several Chinese and other Asian firms are negotiating or signing up to oil and gas deals.
In a last case, Iran signed gas deals worth $14 billion with Malaysia's SKS Group in early December, including a contract to build an LNG plant.
Some European countries have voiced interest in investment in Iran's energy sector after a gas deal was signed between Iran and Switzerland regardless of US sanctions.
The National Iranian Gas Export Company and Switzerland's Elektrizitaetsgesellschaft Laufenburg signed a 25-year deal in March for the delivery of 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
The biggest recent deal, worth $147 million, was signed by Steiner Prematechnik Gastec, the German engineering company, this year to build equipment for three gas conversion plants in Iran.
"We ordered about 10 VLCCs last year and we will take delivery of these between 2010 and 2011 as part of our efforts to become a global shipping company."
"NITC would also be taking delivery early next year of one new Suezmax oil tanker capable of holding up to 1 million barrels. South Korean shipyards built all the vessels due to arrive in early 2009," Seyyed Habibollahi added.
Despite sanctions from the West and US pressure on financial institutions to stay away from Iran, Tehran secured financing for its fleet expansion from several European and Asian banks. BNP Paribas of France acted as lead financier.
Iran sits on 11 percent of the world's oil reserves and has the world's second-largest gas reserves. It pumps about 4 million barrels per day to world markets, with roughly 60 percent bound for Asia and the remaining headed for Europe.
Seyyed Habibollahi said the recent support for supertanker freight rates were partly due to the demand for floating storage facilities in the US Gulf Coast and the North Sea.
"Yes if the freight rates stay at this level we will be happy, not lower," he said.
Oil majors and independent trading houses are storing at least 24 million barrels of crude on oil tankers around the world. The rush to book oil tankers for floating storage has helped to push up crude freight rates on major export routes.
"The shipping firm is still considering a plan to order up to 30 new liquefied natural gas carriers (LNG)," Seyyed Habibollahi said. "We are not making any orders yet," he said, but did not offer more details.
NITC has said it wanted to build an LNG fleet to match Iran's LNG export plans. But US has sought to deter investment by international energy firms capable of building LNG export plants.
Iranian officials have dismissed US sanctions as ineffective, saying that they are finding Asian partners instead. Several Chinese and other Asian firms are negotiating or signing up to oil and gas deals.
In a last case, Iran signed gas deals worth $14 billion with Malaysia's SKS Group in early December, including a contract to build an LNG plant.
Some European countries have voiced interest in investment in Iran's energy sector after a gas deal was signed between Iran and Switzerland regardless of US sanctions.
The National Iranian Gas Export Company and Switzerland's Elektrizitaetsgesellschaft Laufenburg signed a 25-year deal in March for the delivery of 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
The biggest recent deal, worth $147 million, was signed by Steiner Prematechnik Gastec, the German engineering company, this year to build equipment for three gas conversion plants in Iran.