DUBAI: Iran signed a $900 million contract on Saturday with Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Co (IOEC) to develop the first phase of its Kish offshore gas field in the Gulf, state television reported.

Under the contract, IOEC is to launch production of 28 million cubic metres per day of gas in 14 months, which is to be sent to installations in Assalouyeh on Iran’s Gulf coast via a 210 km (130 mile) undersea pipeline, Mohsen Khojastehmehr, head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Co, told the TV.

The gas field, located near Iran’s Gulf island of Kish, holds 1.5 trillion cubic metres of gas in place and is to be developed in four phases, Khojastehmehr said.

Iran sits on the world’s second-largest gas reserves after Russia, but US sanctions have scared off potential foreign investors, hindered access to technology and slowed development of gas exports.