Iran to ink €6b gas deal with domestic firm

Tehran Times -- Iran’s MAPNA Company will sign tomorrow a deal, worth €6 billion, with the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) to develop the Forouz B gas field, which is located in the Persian Gulf, the Shana news agency reported.

The IOOC managing director Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh added that the field holds around 28 trillion cubic feet of in-situ gas reserve. The development plan is aimed at producing one billion cubic feet of gas and generate 3,000 megawatts of electricity per day in the first phase, he noted.

Managing director of MAPNA, Abbas Aliabadi, said earlier that the project aims to use the field's natural gas for generating electricity and subsequently exporting power to neighboring countries, Press TV reported.

Meanwhile, the National Iranian Oil Company stated that it welcomes the private sector’s cooperation on developing oil and gas fields, the NIOC managing director said.

“Developing joint oil and gas fields is the first priority of the country’s oil industry,” Ahmad Qalebani told the Shana news agency.

The NIOC is ready to conclude buy-back contracts with domestic investors, he said, adding that new policies have been adopted to support domestic manufacturers of equipment related to oil and gas industries.

Qalebani announced in November that 20 contracts will be signed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2012) to develop joint oilfields.

Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said in August that the oil industry's infrastructure needs more than 500 trillion rials (about 50 billion U.S. dollars) of investment to achieve Iran's 20-year economic perspective plan goals.