Iran could export its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo in early 2013, if it makes enough money from oil exports to finish the long-awaited project without further delay, Iran LNG president Ali Khayrandish told Reuters in London on Wednesday.  

Iranian officials insist that sanctions preventing western liquefaction technology from being supplied to Iran are having no impact on its plans and that it can manage without external project funding.

'The project is now 53-54 per cent complete and we expect to send a first cargo in Q1 2013,' Khayrandish said at a conference in London.

'Our country has enough revenue for this project, but if a new recession comes and we lose some money from petroleum exports, then it could lead to delays.'

A sustained fall in oil prices could cut Opec-member Iran's export revenues and delay the project, he said, with oil sales the only source of funding after western investors pulled out under pressure from Washington over the last few years.

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. has since been linked to gas export projects in Iran, but US sanctions have also hindered its plans.   

Iran has long dreamt of boosting gas exports to levels close to leading LNG exporter Qatar with which it shares one of the world's largest fields.

But western sanctions aimed at starving Tehran of funds for its disputed nuclear programme have been effective in hindering Iran from producing enough gas to meet even its own rapidly rising demand.

Iran LNG is the most advanced project and Indonesia said last month it was in talks to buy output from Iran LNG from 2013.

But European Union bans have made it almost impossible for Iran to get the closely guarded technology from European companies since last year, with the only other process patented by US industrial giant and military supplier GE long off limits under US sanctions. 

Analysts say Iran is unlikely to become a big exporter of natural gas unless China can develop technology to liquefy the country's reserves and then supply it to Tehran.-Reuters