Iran needs US$200bn investment to develop its oil industry by 2020, said oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, adding that the country must attract foreign investors
The recently-introduced integrated petroleum contract (IPC) has been drawn up to materialise this objective, the minister noted, according to a report in Tehran Times.
The new contracts, which include those in the upstream exploration and development sectors, are expected to attract more than US$40bn in foreign investment.
Of the US$200bn investment targeted for oil industry, US$130bn is needed in the upstream sector and US$70bn in the downstream sector, including petrochemical industries.
Also, all phases of the South Pars gas field, except for half of the Phase 14, are planned to be inaugurated in the summer of 2017, Zanganeh added.
“Iran needs US$30bn to put all phases of the gas field into operation. By putting all phases of the field into operation, the country’s gas output will reach nearly 700mn cu/m per day.”
The oil minister also revealed that oil production from the West Karoun fields are planned to reach 300,000 bpd by the end of the term of the current government.
Meanwhile, various reports also indicate that Japan is interested in the development of Iran’s Azadegan oilfield.
Platts quoted a senior Japanese government official as saying that Azadegan is in a list of upstream projects in which Tokyo is interested.
“With Iran holding one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world, we recognise that upstream developments would be extremely good opportunity for Japanese companies,” Yuki Sadamitsu, director of the oil and gas division at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, told Platts.
Inpex, Japan’s largest upstream company, had a 10 per cent stake in the project but withdrew in 2010 following the Japanese Cabinet’s decision, which is believed to have been prompted by USA pressures.
