Iran signs pipe deal with int’l consortium

Iran’s NOC signed a USD 615-million deal on Wednesday with an international consortium that will manufacture pipes in the country.

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed the contract with a consortium comprising Spain’s Tubacex and Iran’s Mobarakeh Steel Company.

The deal marks the first oil-related contract signed between Iran and an international entity since the lifting of sanctions in January 2016. It came days after the country’s presidential election and a week after the US government renewed sanctions waivers agreed on as part of the 2015 nuclear accord.

Under the deal, the Spanish-Iranian consortium will manufacture corrosion-resistant alloy (CRA) pipes spanning 600 kilometres over a period of three years. Tubacex will transfer relevant technology.

The project will make Iran the region’s first manufacturer of CRA pipes, NIOC managing director Ali Kardor said.

At a signing ceremony, both Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zangeneh and Tubacex managing director Ramin Qalambar Dezfouli emphasised that the deal was just the beginning of longer-term plans for investment in CRA manufacturing in Iran.

Tubacex is a global producer of stainless steel and high-nickel alloy seamless tubes, while Mobarakeh Steel Company manufactures and sells steel products, with exports to regional and European markets.