Iran says it is determined to press ahead with the implementation of its next oil sector projects through the new format of contracts with official saying that the new contracts could bring an investment of about $25 billion for the country’s oil projects within the next two years.
Ali Kardor, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), has been quoted by the media as saying that the new generation of oil contracts is “the only solution for the development of Iran’s oil industry”.
Kardor emphasized that Iran’s oil projects are so attractive to global investors that about a dozen deals have already been signed with companies to study the country’s oil reservoirs.
The same deals, he added, will help the NIOC to identify the development targets in which the companies may be interested the most.
Kardor further stressed that Iran has prioritized at least 12 reservoirs to be developed through the new format of contracts in the first phase of project awards that will be carried out within the next few months.
He said the NIOC has identified about 34 companies that can team up with Iranian companies over the exploration and development of Iran’s upcoming projects.
Last week, the new format of Iran’s oil sector contracts was approved in a cabinet meeting chaired by President Hassan Rouhani.
Based on the new format of contracts, foreign companies will team up with Iranian partners for production of oil and gas from a list of targets that will be announced within the next months.
The projects will have different stages of exploration, development and production and the contractors will be paid with a share of the output.
Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh said in mid-June that the first deals through the new format of contracts will be awarded by October.
Zangeneh further emphasized that Iran expects the upcoming awards to help increase its crude production by 600,000 to 700,000 barrels a day over five years.
