Iran to ink $1.2 billion deal to develop Soroush oilfield

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.4/ Trend G.Mehdi/


Iran will ink a deal, worth $1.2 billion, in the near future to develop the Soroush oilfield, located in the Persian Gulf, the Mehr News Agency quoted the managing director of Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh as saying on Sunday.

The deal, which will be signed with domestic contractors, is aimed to boost the oilfield's output by 25,000 barrels per day over three years, he noted.

In 1999, IOOC inked a $1.5 billion contract, with Shell on development of the Soroush and the Norouz oilfields.

On October 14, Zirakchianzadeh said that Iran prepared new oil development plans, with an estimated cost of $14 billion, related to oilfields located in the Persian Gulf.

"As much as $20 billion worth of deals have been signed within the past two years," he said, "Some $14 billion worth of new deals have been prepared and will be offered to contractors," he added.

The deals are related to Farzad A & B, Soroush, Esfandyar, Tossan, and Alfa fields, Zirakchianzadeh noted.

Soroush and Norouz oil fields with 15 billion and 4 billion barrels of in- place reserves respectively are among the largest oil fields in the Persian Gulf. Recoverable reserves of Soroush and Norouz oil fields are estimated at 585 million barrels and 560 million barrels, respectively.

Iran has attached priority to boosting gas production capacity at its joint oilfields with Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has ordered all contractors of South Pars gas field development projects to work round the clock in three shifts to complete the development of all phases, especially phases 12, 15, 16, 17, and 18.
The South Pars gas field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share, which is divided into 29 phases, has about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight percent of total world reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas.