BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 15. Russian companies are currently continuing the development of 7 oil fields in Iran, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister and CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Mohsen Khojasteh Mehr said, Trend reports.
He did not reveal the names of the fields. All of them are located in the south and northwest of the country.
On August 24, 2023, Iran's Oil Minister Javad Owji said in a meeting with Aide to the President of the Russian Federation, Igor Levitin that Russian companies have started the development of 7 oil fields in Iran. At the same time, discussions were being held with Russian companies on the development of 14 more fields.
Khojasteh Mehr also said that the mentioned Russian companies are working jointly with local companies. This comes from a law passed in Iran in 2019, to support the domestic production, services and products of the country. The law requires that local companies be involved in any projects that foreign companies undertake in Iran, in any sector, whether public or private. This way, local companies can learn from foreign expertise and develop their own capabilities.
Due to the US and Western countries imposing sanctions on Iran's oil sector, Iran does not disclose information about the attraction of investments into this field, as well as about the involvement of companies.
Last Iranian year (March 21, 2022 through March 20, 2023), Iranian and Russian companies signed memorandums of understanding in the oil and gas sector worth $40 billion.
Iran’s total hydrocarbon reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion barrels. With the available technology and equipment, Iran can extract 340 billion barrels. Thus, 30 percent of the country's hydrocarbon reserves are recoverable, while 70 percent remain underground.
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