Iran aims to export gas to Switzerland

TEHRAN, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Iran aims to implement an agreement to sell as much as 53 billion cubic feet of natural gas to Switzerland by the end of the year, officials said.

The National Iranian Gas Export Co. and the Swiss Elektrizitaets-Gesellschaft Laufenburg signed a 25-year deal in March 2008 for gas exports from Iran.

Reza Kassaeizadeh, the managing director at NIGEC, described the deal as one of the "most important" deals that Iran has reached in the last year.

"We hope to bring the deal into implementation this year," he said.

The director added Iran would export as much as 53 billion cubic feet of natural gas to Switzerland each year under the initial phases of the agreement.

Tehran is quick to tout its negotiations with foreign companies in the energy sector as it struggles to find export markets in the face of punitive economic sanctions over its controversial nuclear program.

U.S. lawmakers are set to consider additional sanctions targeting companies that export gasoline to Iran. Despite sitting on some of the largest gas reserves in the world, Iran struggles to meet its own energy demands.