South Africa's Sasoland the Royal Dutch/Shell Groupare both working with NPC on GTL projects and another scheme, planned by Norway's Statoiland South Africa's Petro SAin conjunction with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), is at a feasibility stage. Nematzadeh said he hoped a GTL project would be finalised within a year and that NPC was looking to integrate the project with upstream and midstream gas development. 'To have enough security of feedstock, our foreign partners want an integrated system,' he said. 'We are discussing the upstream with NIOC.'

Integration is complicated by Iran's buyback system of energy contracts, which are also holding up the planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. Pars Oil & Gas Company (POGC) president Assadollah Salehiforooz told reporters on 17 May that upstream and downstream integration in the same project was banned under the constitution. However, he said NIOC was looking at ways of linking the projects and integrating some facilities.

NIOC has now set aside two phases of South Pars 11-14 for GTL and two phases for LNG, according to NPC officials. However, they say gas for GTL could come from subsequent phases if the projects cannot be prepared in time.

Ralph Haverstein, executive director of Sasol, said the scope of its GTL project is still under study. 'We are still looking at the options,' he told MEED at the forum. 'It is best to compare this with our Qatar plant, which will have capacity of 30,000-40,000 barrels a day. It is economically feasible to do something that size or bigger.'

The DME plans are at an earlier stage of development. 'We have been studying DME for a year,' said Nematzadeh, adding that use of the fuel is developing the quickest in Japan and South Korea. DME is a relatively clean fuel and is easy to transport over long distances. However, there needs to be changes made to consumption appliances like car engines and power turbines before it can be used. 'We have decided to enter this business from the beginning,' he said. 'We have done our studies and are working with Japanese and South Korean companies to participate in a mutual DME project together in Assaluyeh.'

According to NPC officials, the prospective partners are conducting marketing studies. Japanese contractors such as JGC Corporationand Toyo Engineering Corporation, as well as trading houses such as Mitsui & Company, are understood to have been in discussions with NPC to develop the project. NPC and potential partners say the easiest way to develop a DME market will be through static consumers like power companies.