Developing advanced technology and investing in modern research methods is the Oil Ministry's strategic approach to revive the age-oil industry.
Habibollah Bitaraf, Iran's deputy oil minister for research and technology, made the statement in the Eighth Oil Ministry's Technology and Research Convention in Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province, on Wednesday, IRNA reported.
According to the official, the ministry's subsidiaries have also committed themselves to adopting the same approach, which is generating fresh ideas to tackle technical issues in the lucrative business that has been deprived of modern know-how during the international sanctions.
"Industrial innovation is the key to implementing long-term oil and gas projects," he said, adding that as long as cutting-edge technical know-how is not introduced into the oil industry, the country's potential capacity to boost extraction from hydrocarbon reserves cannot be fulfilled.
Pointing to the ministry's strategy to transfer technology to the country, Bitaraf noted that the newly-endorsed approach is reflected in oil and gas deals that have been and will be signed based on Iran Petroleum Contract, the country's new model of contracts for oil and gas projects.
Attaching great importance to having access to cutting-edge, he said, "Acquisition of advanced technology should and will be an integral part of IPC-based deals. As soon as new contracts are clinched, not only domestic contractors and manufacturers but also universities and exploration firms will be able to upgrade their operational and managerial know-how."
The official believes that investment in advanced production and processing techniques and access to modern systems can not only generate more value-added but also create a large number of jobs.
"Helping domestic firms to develop the upstream sector via technology transfer tops the ministry's agenda," he said, adding that the ministry has devised plans to support domestic manufacturers by signing contracts to provide them with incentive to play a role in developing the downstream sector.
According to the official, the main priorities in negotiations with international giants are transfer of advanced oil and gas technology and support for the private sector.
Asked about the country's oil and gas capacity, he added that Iran can produce 6 million barrels of oil and 400 billion cubic meters of natural gas per day.
"The current capacity at 4 million bpd will increase to 4.5 million by 2022," Bitaraf said, noting that the country's gas production will rise to 1.1 billion cubic meters in the same period. Iran is currently pumping close to 900 million cubic meters of gas per day.
Bitaraf noted that upstream and downstream sectors' development require $134 billion and $67 billion in investment respectively.
The downstream sector is processing, marketing and distributing crude oil, natural gas and derivatives, while the upstream sector includes searching for potential underground or underwater oil and gas fields, drilling exploratory wells and drilling and operating the wells that recover and bring the crude oil or raw natural gas to the surface.
According to the Oil & Gas Journal, Iran has an estimated 158 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, representing almost 10% of the world’s crude reserves and 13% of reserves held by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The country has the world's second-largest proven natural gas reserves (34 trillion cubic meters) and the fourth-largest crude oil reserves (157 billion barrels).
