A Norwegian oil and gas company is closing in on a $600m contract with an Iranian petrochemical group for one of the first major gas deals since international sanctions were lifted.

The contract will be a joint venture between Hemla Vantage and the Kharg Petrochemical Company, a quasi-privately-owned company, to produce and export liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas by 2017.

“Hemla will secure debt financing and will be 50/50 equity partners with KPC/KGRC [the latter is a sister company of the former],” said Gerhard Ludvigsen, a founding member of Hemla group and director of Hemla Vantage...

The joint venture will purchase 200 million standard cubic feet of flared gas per day from offshore fields near Kharg Island over a period of up to 15 years.