National Iranian Oil Company Archives - International Finance

NIOC, Zarubezhneft to develop two oilfields, reports Iranian state TV

International Finance Desk — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 06:00:09 +0000

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) recently signed an agreement with Russian state-controlled oil company Zarubezhneft to develop two oil fields in Iran, reported Shana IRAN.

The deal is worth of US$740mn. The Aban and the Paydar-e Gharb oilfields are situated in western Iran, and are jointly owned by Iran and Iraq. At present, the combined output is equal to 36,000 barrels per day.

The ten-year agreement should boost the oil output to 48,000 barrels per day. According to Shana, during the next ten years, the fields are expected to produce 67mn barrels of oil.

Iranian politician Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said this is the first deal they have signed together with a leading Russian firm to develop oil fields.

“We hope that it won’t be the last deal. It was a difficult negotiation and I say congratulations to both parties,” Zangeneh added.

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Key oil players presented Azadegan plans

International Finance Desk — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 08:57:08 +0000

Several leading oil and gas players have submitted the results of their studies over the development of one of its biggest oil prospects – Azadegan oil field.

Ali Kardor, the Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said that the companies included Total, Royal/Dutch Shell, CNPC and Inpex.

Kardor emphasized that the NIOC was already studying the studies presented by the companies. He added that several more had requested more time to present their technical evaluations over Azadegan, but did not mention the names.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh announced that the tender proceedings over the project – known as Iran’s biggest oil find in decades – had already started.

Zanganeh also said that if things proceed as normal, a deal over Azadegan was likely to be sealed before next summer.

Iran discovered Azadegan (later devided into North Azadegan and South Azadegan) oil field in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khouzestan in 1999 in what was the country’s biggest oil find in decades.

South Azadegan is believed to hold an in-place oil reserve of about 33.2 billion barrels and its recoverable resources estimated at about 5.2 billion barrels.

Azadegan is shared with Iraq, and Iran is in a race with its neighbour to develop the reservoir. Royal/Dutch Shell has developed the Iraqi stretch of the reservoir, known as Majnoon oil field in the southern city of Basra.

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NIOC and Gazprom sign LNG deal

International Finance Desk — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 07:55:00 +0000

Gazprom, a leading Russian gas company, signed a initial agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) that visualizes cooperation over the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

As the official website of Gazprom announced, this would be part of a larger plan for cooperation that concentrates on the development of Iran’s gas fields ‘with subsequent transportation and monetization’.

The agreement was signed between Gazprom’s Deputy Chairman, Vitaly Markelov and Iran’s Deputy Petroleum Minister for Trade and International Affairs, Amir Hossein Zamaninia. If made final, it would make Iran a key player in the profitable global market of liquefied natural gas it has been absent so far.

Production of LNG requires a technology heavily patented by American companies. That technology cannot thus be provided to Iran due to sanctions by the US against the country.

Foreign companies are also banned from developing any LNG project on Iran’s soil due to the same sanctions. The country had previously devised three liquefaction projects – Pars LNG, Persian LNG and NIOC/Iran LNG – but had to shelve them after investors – Total and Shell – refused to push them forward as a result of sanctions.

Gazprom is already a major player in the global natural gas liquefaction market. It currently supplies LNG to ten countries – Japan, Korea, China, India, Taiwan, Britain, the USA, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico – as well as others.

The company’s only operational LNG project is Sakhalin II which has an annual capacity of 9.6 million tonnes and was built in 2009 in cooperation with Shell. A second key liquefaction project is Baltic LNG which the Russian company is planning to develop – again with the help of Shell.

Gazprom further stated that it has signed another basic agreement with Industrial Development & Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) over the past few days over joint gas liquefaction projects in third countries. The agreement also envisages projects in the field of advanced gas processing and petrochemical in Iran’s territory.

Iran has been discussing with Oman for long to produce LNG in its Qalhat liquefaction plant. The project involves piping gas from southern Iran to the Persian Gulf and liquefying it into LNG for shipments to international markets.

Gazprom’s agreement with IDRO could be a copy of the same scheme in what could be a new strategy by Iran to launch liquefaction projects in offshore facilities. An earlier instance of such strategy became visible when Iran said an LNG project would be launched on a ship in Persian Gulf waters.

The project has been awarded to Norway’s Hemla Vantage energy giant which would install the plant on a vessel close to Kharg Island. It would become operational over the next two years.

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