Azerbaijan, Baku, April 14 / Trend, A.Yusifzade /
Some $30 billion per year should be allocated to equip Iran's oil industry facilities during the implementation of the Fifth Five Year Development Plan (2010-2015) while currently Iran's domestic resource base allows providing only $6 billion a year, Fars News Agency reported quoting the Member of Iran's Industrial Equipment Manufactures Association Akbar Kazemi as saying.
According to Kazemi, Iran aims to invest $560 billion in oil industry over the 20-Year Outlook Plan (2005-2025).
Oil Minister Seyed Masoud Mirkazemi previously said Iran needs to invest $210 billion in its oil and gas projects during the fifth development plan for building and upgrading refineries and oil and gas networks.
The managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ahmad Qalebani said total investments in Iran's oil industry increased 215 percent to $29 billion last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2011) in comparison to a year earlier.
According to Qalebani $11 billion of the investments had been provided by domestic financial resources and the remaining part ($18 billion) by foreign sources.
Qalebani said foreign investment has grown by 5.5 times last year noting total foreign investment in Iran's oil industry stood at $3.450 billion during the previous Iranian calendar year of 1388 (ended March 20, 2010).
"Currently we are producing 292,000 barrels of oil and 250 million cubic feet of gas from onshore and offshore shared oil and gas fields that are slated to rise to 723,000 barrels of oil and 900 million cubic meters of gas by $75 billion investment over the Fifth Five YearDevelopment Plan up to the end of 2015," Qalebani added.
Iran is currently shared in 19 oil and gas fields with its neighbors of which 9 fields are located in onshore sector (eight with Iraq and one with Turkmenistan) plus 10 oil and gas fields which are shared with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman in the Persian Gulf waters.
Iran Industrial Equipment Manufacturers Association was establish on basis of the need for developing and improving industrial and national projects.
Iran has OPEC's second-highest oil output, and ranks second in the world in terms of natural gas reserves after Russia.