NIOC ready to involve Gazprom, Rosneft, Tatneft in developing fields in Iran
MOSCOW. Sept 15 (Interfax) - National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is ready to involve Gazprom , Rosneft , and Tatneft in the development of gas and oil fields in Iran, NIOC CEO Mohsen Khojasteh Mehr said during a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum.
"Gazprom, Rosneft, Tatneft, and other Russian companies have done studies on the development of a whole number of gas and oil fields in Iran in recent years. The NIOC should hold substantive negotiations based on the results of the studies performed and conclude contracts for the development of these fields as swiftly as possible," Khojasteh Mehr said.
Khojasteh Mehr also touched upon the topic of cooperation within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed with Gazprom in July in the sphere of developing gas and oil fields and liquefied natural gas facilities and infrastructure, as well as technological cooperation.
"Cooperation within the framework of this agreement is already developing dynamically at present. This document specifically addresses the development of two fields, North Pars and Kish. If they are fully realized, Iran's capacity for gas production will increase by more than 200 million cubic meters per day. The swap and export capacities of both companies will significantly increase as a result," he said.
Khojasteh Mehr also talked about plans to develop Iran's oil and gas sector. "The program to develop the oil and gas fields of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the course of the next eight years requires $160 billion in investments, $70 billion of which will be directed to the gas development sector. The Islamic Republic of Iran also has 19 gas processing plants capable of processing over 1 billion cubic meters of gas per day. And in the course of the next eight years, we plan to increase this capacity by more than 50%," he said.
The NIOC is a wholly owned subsidiary enterprise of the Iranian Petroleum Ministry engaging in geological prospecting and exploration, the production, transport, and export of oil, and natural gas production.