Press TV- Iran says it expects to finalize talks over an ambitious project to export natural gas to Oman through a subsea pipeline in early March.��

The announcement was made by Iran�s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh after meeting Oman�s Oil and Gas Minister Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Rumhy in Tehran.

Zanganeh added that representatives from several global energy companies had also participated in the meeting to present their proposals for carrying out the project.

He said the companies included France�s Total, Royal/Dutch Shell, South Korea�s Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), Germany�s Uniper and Japan�s Mitsui.

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Based on an agreement signed in 2013, Iran will export 28 million cubic meters of gas to Oman per day for a period of 15 years through a pipeline that will go to the sultanate through the Persian Gulf.

Almost a third of the gas exported by Iran to Oman will be turned into liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the sultanate�s Qalhat plant, and the rest will be consumed domestically.

Iran will accordingly use the LNG produced at Qalhat plant for exports to European and Asian markets.

Zanganeh further emphasized that the preliminaries of the project had already started, adding that a map for the route of the pipeline would be ready within the next few months.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Zanganeh said that a contract had been signed between Iran and Oman during his meeting with Al Rumhy to extend the agreement between the two countries over the project.