Azerbaijan, Baku, October 13 / Trend /
Dalgha Khatinoglu, Head of the Trend Persian Service.
The deficit of foreign investments in Iranian oil and gas sector exceeded $22.5 billion in 2008. Iranian oil and gas sector needs investments to the amount of $24 billion annually. According to UN, investments did not exceed $1.5 billion in 2008.
The Director of Iranian Privatization Committee, Golamreza Heydari Kord Zengene, said that Iran needs to draw $1.3 trillion of foreign investments in oil and gas sector for the next 20 years,
($ 65 billion per year).
According to BP, as of January 1, 2009, Iranian total proven oil reserves amount to 137.6 billion barrels. Before the Islamic Revolution in Iran (in 1979), daily oil production in Iran amounted to 6 million barrels. Presently, it does not exceed 4.5 million barrels. The main reason of reduction of oil production is the lack of renewed oil and gas infrastructure, deficit of new investments, insufficient amount of extracted gas for repumping into the reservoir to maintain pressure in oil-bearing reservoirs. Iran needs 150 million cubic meters of gas for repumping into the reservoir daily. But Iran has only 70 million cubic meters.
There is similar situation in Iranian gas sector. According to BP, as of January 1, 2009, Iranian proven reserves were 29.61 trillion cubic meters.
The Director of NIOC Company and Deputy Minister of Petroleum, Seyfulla Dzhashnsaz, said that about $30 billion were invested in development of large gas project "South Pars". About $40 billion more will be required for further development of the field. Gas reserves of the deposit are estimated to the amount of 14 trillion cubic meters.
At present, about 500-520 million cubic meters of gas are extracted in Iran daily. This volume is bare to meet constantly increasing demand for this kind of fuel on the domestic market. The problem with Iranian gas balance is partially connected with irrational use of natural gas. For example, daily popping of gas in torches hit 44 million cubic meters in Iran. Turkey uses the same volume of fuel per day.
According to Iranian economic newspaper "Sermaye" ("Investments"), the volume of investments in oil and gas sector reduced 64 percent from $4.2 billion per year.in the first period of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's taking office.