Iran Puts ’50 Oil and Gas Fields’ Out to Tender
Iran is putting fifty oil and gas projects out to tender to foreign companies. All of these projects will be awarded to foreign companies based on new types of oil contracts known as “IPC” (Iranian Petroleum Contract).
According to documents from the Ministry of Oil, foreign companies must select a partner from among Iranian companies for the development of these fields.
According to a report on Monday, October 19, news agencies reported that the National Iranian Oil Company announced that 29 oil fields and 21 gas fields will be put out to tender for the participation of foreign companies.
The Iranian Oil Company has asked foreign parties to submit their requests by November 20, and the tender winners will be announced by December 8.
Apparently, the list of fields that Iran wants to put out to tender is the same list that was presented to foreign companies in December of last year at the Tehran Conference.
In that list, 21 gas fields were proposed with the goal of producing 380 million cubic meters of gas daily. Additionally, 29 oil fields were also proposed, but without reference to the final volume of oil production. It was only estimated that these fields would also add up to 200 million cubic meters of gas daily to the country’s production.
Associated gas is gas that is extracted from oil fields along with crude oil. However, Iran recently announced that it intends to increase its daily crude oil production to between five and five million and 500 thousand barrels per day over the next four years.
Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran’s Oil Minister, announced on Monday that in the framework of the sixth development plan, there is a need for 134 billion dollars of investment in the field of oil and gas production and 52 billion dollars in the petrochemical sector.
Iran hopes to attract approximately 150 billion dollars of foreign investment in the oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors by 2020.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press, referring to Iran’s current daily production of three million and 850 thousand barrels of crude oil, writes that Tehran is not willing to join the oil freeze (halt in production growth) until this figure reaches four million barrels.
Associated Press referred to the agreement of the first OPEC members to reduce this organization’s production to 33 million barrels daily in the Algiers meeting during the past month, and writes that Iran welcomes this decision. OPEC members are scheduled to reach an agreement next month on freezing or even reducing production.
Amirhassan Zamaninejad, Deputy Minister of Oil of Iran, says that this decision was “a small step, but in the right direction.”
Regarding the development of oil and gas fields, this report states that Iranian officials have previously announced that priority will be given to fields shared with neighboring countries. Iran has 28 shared oil and gas fields with its neighbors.
Ali Kardor, head of the National Iranian Oil Company, announced on Monday that the first tender will be for the development of the Azadegan field. This field is shared with Iraq.
Source: Radio Farda
