NIOC, PEDCO Sign Oilfield Study MoU

Petroiran Development Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Iranian Oil Company to conduct surveys on two onshore oilfields in Ilam and Khuzestan provinces.

The agreement was signed by Gholamreza Manouchehri, the deputy for development and engineering at NIOC, and Roham Qasemi, PEDCO's managing director, in Tehran on Wednesday, NIOC's news portal reported.

According to the terms of MoU, PEDCO will study Danan Oilfield in Ilam Province and Sousangerd Oilfield in Khuzestan. Pointing to NIOC's policy to support domestic firms to play an active role in oil and gas fields' development, Manouchehri noted that assigning Iranian enterprises to expand relatively small fields tops NIOC's agenda as it can help them prosper and have a say in the market. Pasargad Energy Development Company and the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran have already been tasked with studying Sousangerd Oilfield while Danan Oilfield is being studied by Iran's Petropars Company.

"PEDCO has proven to be capable of assisting the country in stabilizing its oil and gas production," he said, adding that the company has already performed a major role in developing the South Pars oil layers in the Persian Gulf.

Established in1997, PEDCO is an oil and gas company based in Tehran. It is a subsidiary of Naftiran Intertrade, an affiliate of National Iranian Oil Company responsible for developing upstream oil projects. Referring to NIOC's plan to draw on domestic firms' expertise on enhancing oil recovery rate, the official hoped that more Iranian companies show enthusiasm in upstream oil and gas industry development projects, known as exploration and production.

"Investment packages have been prepared to help undertake oil recovery initiatives that will be implemented in the form of engineering, procurement, construction and financing contracts," he added, noting that NIOC will tender the projects gradually and both foreign and domestic firms can bid for them.

 "NIOC has signed 32 MoUs with international and domestic firms with the aim of exploring the country's hydrocarbon deposits," Manouchehri said, noting that some 100 proposals are expected to be submitted to NIOC, of which 45 have been delivered.

  Proposals Presented

Commenting on proposals presented so far, Manouchehri noted that Austria's integrated oil and gas company OMV, Russia's Lukoil, Indonesia's Pertamina, Japan's Inpex, French energy giant Total S.A. and Denmark's Maersk Group are among majors that provided NIOC with the result of their technical studies.

Furthermore, technical teams are studying Korea Gas Corporation's plan to develop Belal Gas Field in Hormozgan Province.

On Russian oil and gas firm Zarubezhneft's competition with India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited to develop the Farzad-B Gas Field in the Persian Gulf, Manouchehri said both companies have presented their plans and NIOC's Reservoir Management Committee will announce the decision soon.

Iran is pushing for new deals with multinationals to raise crude production despite a global oversupply and persistently low prices. It is now pumping close to 4 million barrels a day, a level last seen before the tightening of international economic sanctions in 2011.