NIOC To Close $14 Billion Worth Of Deals To Develop Iran’s Oil And Gas Fields By End Of March
The head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said the company is set to award contracts worth $14 billion to local companies to develop the country’s oil and gas fields by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 19).
Speaking in a television interview, Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr said a plan to improve the recovery rate of South Pars gas field wells is also on the agenda and will be launched by the end of this year, Tasnim news agency reported.
“We are actively engaged in exploration, development, production, transmission and export in almost all provinces of the country,” Khojasteh-Mehr said.
Referring to maintaining gas production during the cold season, the official said: “Currently, the National Iranian Oil Company produces one billion cubic meters of gas per day, most of which is used for domestic and commercial purposes, and the rest is consumed in power plants and industry.”
He also emphasized that all projects identified by the Ministry of Oil and the National Iranian Oil Company were aimed at increasing production, adding: “Under the 13th government, oil production increased by 60 percent, and this increase in production is due to the increase in exports of crude oil and gas condensate, which was three times more than under the previous government.”
“Under the current government, the country’s gas production capacity has also increased by 70 million cubic meters, resulting in increased revenue and export value for the country,” the official added.
According to the head of NIOC, gas production from the South Pars gas field, which accounts for 70 percent of Iran’s gas production, has now reached more than 700 million cubic meters per day.
The South Pars gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, is estimated to contain significant quantities of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of global reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate. The deposit is divided into 24 standard phases.
