Iran
says it expects to award at least 10 new contracts for the
development of oil and gas projects to international energy companies
in the near future
Gholam-Reza
Manouchehri, the deputy for development and engineering affairs of
the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), was quoted by the domestic
media as saying that 12 contracts had already been awarded to
companies since the removal of sanctions against Iran in January.
Manouchehri
emphasized that Iran’s oil sector projects were particularly
attractive to global investors given the low risks as well as the low
costs involved.
“The
costs of producing oil and gas in Iran are very low compared to other
countries,” he told Iran’s IRNA news agency. “This has
already increased the motivation of international companies to
approach Iran’s oil and gas projects”.
The first
major contract that Iran awarded after the removal of the sanctions
was one for the development of Phase 11 of the country’s South Pars
gas field. The contract was awarded in November to a consortium
led by France’s Total. Another major contract was one that was
shortly afterwards signed with the global energy giant Shell for
studying three major oil and gas fields in southern Iran.
For multiple
years, Iran was under a draconian US-led regime of sanctions that
banned investments by international companies in the country’s oil
sector projects among other numerous restrictions.
The
sanctions were lifted in January after a nuclear deal that Iran
sealed with the five permanent members of the Security Council plus
German – the so-called P5+1 group of countries – came into
effect.
The deal
envisaged certain steps by Iran to restrict some aspects its nuclear
energy activities in return for moves by the P5+1 to lift certain
economic sanctions against the country.
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