The National Iranian Oil Company and Italian refiner Saras signed a new contract based on which the Italian firm will double its oil import from Iran.
“The agreement calls for providing the Italian refiner with 65,000 barrels of crude per day, a twofold rise compared to its previous import volume,” Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi told Mehr News Agency.
Commenting on negotiations with other Italian enterprises, the official added that serious talks are underway with Italian oil and gas giant Eni and the two sides have reached preliminary agreements on signing an oil contract, yet nothing has been concluded yet.
“If the negotiations come to fruition, the Italian giant will be provided with 100,000 bpd,” he said.
According to Javadi, Eni has already expressed willingness to develop the third phase of Darkhovein Oilfield in southern Iran and negotiations are underway to commission the same firm to complete the development plan. Darkhovein’s phases 1 and 2 were already completed by Eni and NIOC.
The Italian firm has recently developed a deepwater drilling technology that allows it to significantly reduce the exploration and extraction costs at offshore oil and gas wells.
The oilfield is located 30 kilometers north of Khorramshahr. It is estimated to hold around 5.2 billion barrels of oil, of which 1.3 billion barrels are recoverable. The field’s output is to reach 240,000 barrels per day in the next five years.
According to Mohsen Qamsari, director of international affairs at NIOC, plans have been devised to increase oil export to Europe by more than 600,000 bpd in the near future. Moreover, all contracts are and should be long-term, although customers will receive one or two cargoes to check the quality of the product.
On Iran’s oil exports rising from 1 to 2.1 million bpd, he added that the current tanker fleet cannot meet the dramatic rise. Qamsari believes that the market will decide whether the Persian Gulf country should increase its production by 3.5 million bpd in the future.
