Resources of the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) are being tapped for development of phases 13, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 of the giant South Pars gas field, a senior official from the National Iranian Oil Company said Tuesday, Shana reported.
Mohammad Delparish said $5 billion from the NDFI was allotted to NIOC in 2013, but the amount was not utilized for the development of the phases due to certain considerations.
Recently, NIOC has decided to funnel the amount to the development of phases with secondary importance. "These are mostly near completion," said Delparish.
He said plans are underway for exploiting private capital for completion of the projects; to this end, the NIOC will issue over 5 trillion rials worth of fixed rate bonds during next Iranian calendar year (begins March 21).
Delparish expressed hope that the public would find the high-yield bonds attractive. "Through raising capital from issuing of bond issuance and also using NDFI resources, part of the finances required for South Pars development projects will be provided and allocated to Pars Oil & Gas Company as one of the main contractors," the NIOC official said. Several POGC projects are currently being financed by NDFI agent banks, he added, noting that each project will be financed based on its rate of progress.
"At the same time, we have other projects, including NGL 3100 and Azar Oilfield development plan, which are in line to receive NDFI finance,"
Azar oil field is expected to start producing 30,000-35,000 b/d in the coming months.
Azar will add 65,000 b/d to Iran's oil production capacity once fully developed. The project cost will be more than $1b, Zanganeh said earlier. A total of 19 wells are planned to be drilled at Azar, five of which have been completed. The field is part of the West Karun cluster of fields, many of which are shared with neighboring Iraq. The West Karun fields are projected to produce 1 million barrels of oil per day in 2018.
