Int'l Oil Consortium to Stay

Amid a growing number of companies preparing to leave Iran as US sanctions kick in, an international oil and gas consortium has announced it will stay in the country.

"Pergas International Consortium, which includes 11 European, Canadian and Asian companies, has no plans to abandon its Iranian operations," the company's managing director, Colin Rowley, was quoted as saying by Oil Price.

The statement comes a month after Pergas signed a preliminary contract with Tehran for the development of Karanj Oilfield in the southern Khuzestan Province.

Reuters noted at the time this was the first contract after US President Donald Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

Pergas plans to pump 655 million barrels of oil from Karanj over the next 10 years.

This weekend, the company’s head said the consortium plans to execute the plan with precise and accurate management and for this purpose, it intends to cooperate with the Iranian and international parts manufacturers.

"Once this plan is executed completely, Iran’s crude production capacity will increase and employment opportunities will be generated in Khuzestan Province,” he said.

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told media this weekend that there were plans to increase Iran’s crude oil production by 460 million barrels over the next three years.

This will involve ramping up production from 29 fields across the country.

"Most of the work on this production boost will be carried out by local companies," Zanganeh said, adding that 75% of the equipment to be used in the endeavor are also Iranian.

Iran is OPEC’s third-largest oil producer, with a daily rate of 3.8 million barrels as of early June, according to a survey from S&P Platts. The return of US sanctions is expected to affect this figure, although the precise extent of the impact is yet to be seen.