Iran can sign $10-15 billion worth of energy projects under its new oil and gas contracts within the next 12 months, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company said on Tuesday.
“Holding Iran Petroleum Contract tenders is a time-consuming process, as the contracts need further adjustments before being finalized,” Rokneddin Javadi was quoted as saying by Shana.
Iran unveiled its new contracts for more than 50 oil and gas development projects in a major conference in November 2015.
Javadi, who is also a deputy oil minister, said the much-needed capital for implementing the IPC projects will materialize after signing the contracts.
Ali Kardor, a deputy head of NIOC, said Iran aims to select a country where the second IPC conference will be held.
Tehran was set to unveil more details of the new contract framework in a London conference in February, but the event was tentatively postponed to May because of the British Embassy's delay in issuing visa.
"The London conference has been canceled because the British Embassy in Tehran could not issue visas for the representatives of Iranian companies as its visa section has yet to become active," Kardor said, rejecting speculations that the cancellation was linked to domestic opposition to the new contracts.
IPC has been a subject of dispute among officials and experts. Opponents say it essentially gives a huge concession in Iran’s rich hydrocarbon reserves to foreign companies, with one analyst saying the new contracts are “a return to days before the oil industry was nationalized”.
Proponents say the development of oil and gas fields requires foreign technology and investment, stressing that a lack of money and equipment justifies the Oil Ministry’s policy in reaching out to internationals.
Announcing that the normal oil production decline is about 7%-8% annually, Javadi said, “Until the end of the sixth five-year development plan [2016-21], Iran must prevent a 1.5-million-barrel decline per day by using enhanced oil recovery and improved oil recovery methods.”
On sustainable oil production, NIOC’s chief executive noted that based on discussions held at specialized committees in the Oil Ministry, Iran can raise and maintain its daily oil production to 4.7 million barrels, a volume that will not damage the country’s oil reservoirs.
