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Iranian oil sector attractive for foreign investors

Business Materials 16 June 2016 17:59 (UTC +04:00)
Iranian oil sector is attractive for foreign companies and they will invest in Iranian oil industry in the near future, Behrooz Abdolvand, managing director of German Consulting company DESB GmbH focusing on Iranian energy market, expert on the Caspian region believes.
Iranian oil sector attractive for foreign investors

Baku, Azerbaijan, June 16

By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:

Iranian oil sector is attractive for foreign companies and they will invest in Iranian oil industry in the near future, Behrooz Abdolvand, managing director of German Consulting company DESB GmbH focusing on Iranian energy market, expert on the Caspian region believes.

"Shell and Total have already started to buy Iranian oil. Furthermore Total, Shell and Wintershall are negotiating intensively with the Iranian government about investment in the Iranian oil production. Gazprom is also in negotiations with the Iranian government," Abdolvand told Trend by email.

Besides the mentioned companies other international oil majors are interested in investing in Iranian oil fields, he said.

According to BP, Iran ranked fourth in the world in terms of proven oil reserves, which amounted to 21.7 billion tons at the beginning of 2016.

Abdolvand believes that current low oil prices will not prevent foreign oil companies from investing in Iran. He noted that against the background of the crisis in Nigeria and the sharp decrease of oil production in Canada foreign investors will invest in the Iranian oil sector, because of the comparatively low production costs there. He also noted that OPEC is currently reducing overcapacities of 100,000 barrel/day and by end of 2016 it is planned to reduce overcapacities of another 60,000 barrels/day.

Abdolvand expects Iran to continue increase its oil production. He noted that Iran has the capability to increase its production in a short period of time by 4.5 million barrel/day and another 2 million barrel/day is also possible in case that the necessary investment is made.

"Therefore Iran could increase its overall production capacity by 6.5 million barrels/day," he said.

Iran has been increasing oil production since it reached an agreement on the removal of international sanctions in July 2015. In April 2016 the country reached the pre-sanctions level of oil production. According to OPEC, oil production in Iran in May grew by more than 89,000 barrels per day - up to 3.562 million barrels per day.

Edited by EA

Follow the author on Twitter:@E_Kosolapova

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