Iran is in talks with the biggest floating LNG company for production of liquefied natural gas, head of the National Iranian Gas Company Alireza Kameili said on Thursday.�

The company, which he did not name, will come to Iran �immediately� after sanctions are lifted on the Islamic Republic.

�Due to their high economic viability, Iran is moving in the direction of building FLNG plants,� Kameli said of a process which involves floating production of LNG above an offshore natural gas field, with liquefaction, storage and transfer all carried out at sea by a special ship.

The official�made it clear that several LNG mega-projects currently halted due to the sanctions are still on track. �LNG projects are being pursued as before and FLNG is an alternative option.�

Kameli said talks also continue with many foreign parties for sales of the Iranian gas. �Currently, preliminary negotiations are underway with more than 170 foreign companies which are keenly prepared to receive gas from Iran.�

�With preliminary negotiations held, the operational and executive work will immediately begin after the lifting of sanctions,� he added.

Last month, Kameli said Iran planned to revive its massive LNG projects with the aim of exporting to Europe.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Head of the National Iranian Gas Company Alireza Kameli says energy talks are underway with more than 170 foreign companies. �Shana[/caption]

The county had contracts with the Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, Spain�s Repsol and France�s Total to build three LNG plants but those companies�abandoned the projects in 2010 under US and European pressures.

Tehran sees LNG more viable than piped gas which requires a great deal of time and high costs to reach Europe.

The country plans to build a capacity for exporting 40 million metric tons a year of LNG which is super-cooled to minus 162 degrees Celsius for shipment by special tankers.

Last month, Gazprom's deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev announced the Russian company�s interest in Iran�s LNG projects.

Iran owns the world�s largest proven gas reserves put around 34 trillion cubic meters (tcm) by BP in its latest review.

Much of Iran�s gas production goes to domestic consumption, with exports hardly surpassing 10 billion cubic meters a year but officials expect production to grow 71% in the next four years.

According to Hassan Montazer-Torbati at the National Iranian Gas Company, Iran will invest about 63 billion in the sector to obtain 10% of the global gas market share.

Officials say Iran�s priority for now is to send its gas to the regional markets via pipelines and resort to�LNG and LPG shipments for long hauls.

By Press TV