TEHRAN, Nov. 22 (MNA) — First LNG consignment produced from Phase 11 at South Pars gas field, southern Iran, is scheduled to be market bound by 2010, an official with French Total said on Wednesday.

Borias, Total’s Middle East exploration and production deputy, added that the first consignment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from SP phase 11 is planned to hit European and Asian markets by 2010, Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported him as saying.

The project to produce LNG at SP phases 11, dubbed “Pars LNG”, is a huge project pushing Iran to gain a major share in global LNG markets, he explained.

He added that tenders and studies on the project have finished, and preliminary designs will be presented in 2007.

The project is in accord with environmental standards of Iran and World Bank, and will take four years for completion, he elaborated.

The official noted that the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Total, and Malaysian Petronas are holding 50 percent, 30 percent, and 10 percent of stocks respectively, while the rest is to be offered in shares. FK/ML END MNA