Wintershall, Germany's largest oil and gas company, is studying Iran's upstream oil projects as Tehran is expected to hold the first international tender in its oil and gas industry this month.
“We are analyzing technical data on four onshore (Iranian) fields as part of an agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company,” a Wintershall spokesperson told Natural Gas World.
The BASF-owned upstream firm is evaluating investment opportunities in Iranian fields following a memorandum of understanding signed in April.
According to the MoU, Wintershall was assigned to study four unnamed crude oil reservoirs in western Iran, Oil Ministry's news agency Shana reported in April.
The ministry has said that foreign companies who are studying Iran's oil and gas fields should separately bid for the drilling rights of the same fields.
“The terms of the government contract setting out the legal and economic framework, including taxes and duties are not yet available,” the spokesperson for Wintershall said, referring to Iran's new model of oil and gas contracts, dubbed as Iran Petroleum Contract, which is planned to attract foreign investment and knowhow in the key energy sector.
"They (contracts) will be key to any investment decision by Wintershall. Should Wintershall start building up operations, the company would want to have a significant daily production," the spokesperson added.
Wintershall has also voiced interest in holding oil- and gas-related training courses in Iran and expanding collaboration in research and development projects.
Wintershall is a subsidiary of BASF, the world's largest chemical producer, which has been actively studying Iran's energy market after Tehran and six world powers (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) reached an accord in July 2015 to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
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