Italy’s Saipem inks MoUs with Iran on energy projects

Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem on Tuesday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state-owned National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), covering the potential cooperation between the two firms on NIGC pipeline projects.

Projects under the agreement will include IGAT9 and IGAT11 projects in Iran, which cover 1,800 kilometers, Saipem said in a statement.

Saipem had inked another MoU with the Parsian Oil & Gas Development Co. a day earlier on the revamping and upgrading of the Pars Shiraz and Tabriz refineries.

Details related to the value of the deals were not revealed.

The two preliminary agreements were signed during the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Rome, according to a statement carried by Iran’s state-news agency IRNA.

NIGC controls downstream gas activities, processing plants and pipelines across Iran. IGAT-9 is designed to transport gas from a processing hub through Iran’s western provinces to its border with Turkey.

Saipem is controlled by Eni and Italian state lender fund FSI.