Iran is negotiating with 16 international energy companies to help operate and manage 50 oil and natural gas projects around the country to boost production after years of international sanctions.
The projects are feasible even with oil at $40 a barrel, Gholamreza Manouchehri, a deputy director of the National Iranian Oil Company, told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.
The South Azadegan field on Iran’s southwestern border will be the first deal announced, and probably needs $10 billion to add 600,000 barrels a day of output, he added.
“We have a lot of companies approaching NIOC. I am not sure when we will sign the first contract. I hope it will be earlier than a year from now. ”
Iran is recovering from sanctions that undermined its economy and deflected investment in its oil and gas industry. An easing of sanctions in January has allowed the country to ramp up oil exports, to 2 million barrels a day in July from 1.4 million at the end of last year, Joint Organizations Data Initiative data shows.
Iran, currently the No. 3 producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is seeking to boost production at oil and gas fields, and will need about $200 billion over the next four years for energy investments, according to figures provided by Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.
The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that economic conditions in Iran are improving and forecast growth of 4.5% this year compared with 0.4% in 2015.
Iran wants to produce about 4 million barrels of crude a day to regain its pre-sanctions share of the market, Zanganeh said Tuesday. Iran’s output was 3.63 million barrels a day in September, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
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