The Philippines has demonstrated interest in building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Iran –that will be built by a consortium of Philippino National Oil Company (PNOC) and a European firm–as well as it seeks to purchase gas from the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trade Arabia announced.

According to Mehr News, the Filipino-Iranian willingness to cooperate has triggered a round of talks between the two countries in Tehran with the presence of the Iranian Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs, Amir Hossein Zamaninia, and the Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) President, Pedro Aquino.

Zamaninia detailed that the Asian country is “eager to construct LNG facilities in Iran with a production capacity of 18m tons per year.”

Recently, Iran has inked a deal with Turkish Energy Company Unit International to build seven natural gas power plants, in what it said was the biggest investment in the Islamic Republic since the lifting of sanctions.