Iran introduces $100B in oil projects at World Petroleum Congress

06/19/14

Source: Tehran Times

The National Iranian Oil Company has introduced 41 projects, valued at $100 billion, to foreign investors at the 21st World Petroleum Congress, which opened in Moscow on Monday and runs until Thursday.





National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)

The projects entail the development of oil and gas fields, the establishment of natural gas liquid (NGL) plants, and the collection of associated petroleum gas at oilfields, the IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

Associated petroleum gas is a form of natural gas which is found with deposits of petroleum. Due to the remote location of many oilfields, in the past, this gas was simply burnt off in gas flares. The gas can be utilized in a number of ways after processing. It can be sold and included in the natural gas distribution networks, used for on-site electricity generation with engines or turbines, reinjected for enhanced oil recovery, or used as feedstock for the petrochemical industry.

Iran has tried to bring more foreign companies into its energy sector since securing limited sanctions relief from a November interim agreement to temporarily curb its nuclear activities.

On March 1, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that Iran's oil industry would head forward, with or without sanctions.

The sanctions have not hindered the trend of progress of Iran's oil industry, he stated, adding that the new model of contracts would help the country circumvent the sanctions.

The Iranian government said in April that it would revise how it regulates oil and natural gas contracts, though sanctions must be lifted for their full utilization.

Iran, under the terms of the previous buy-back contracts, paid contractors a set price for oil and natural gas produced. Under the planned new system, state-run energy companies will establish joint ventures with their international counterparts, which will be paid with a share of the output.