Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 06 / Trend F.Milad/
The National Iranian Oil Company welcomes the private sector's cooperation in the development of the oil and gas fields, the NIOC managing director said.
"Developing joint oil and gas fields is the first priority of the country's oil industry," Ahmad Qalebani told the Shana news agency.
The NIOC is ready to conclude buy-back contracts with domestic investors, he said, adding that new policies have been adopted to support local manufacturers of equipment related to the oil and gas industries.
Mr Qalebani announced in November that 20 contracts will be signed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2012) to develop joint oilfields.
Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said in August that the Iranian government should consider plans for the development of joint oilfields along the border areas with Iraq, the IRNA news agency reported.
"The oil industry's infrastructure needs more than 500 trillion rials (about 50 billion U.S. dollars) of investment to achieve Iran's 20-year economic perspective plan goals," Mr Qasemi was quoted as saying.
"By the end of the fifth development plan (2015), the country's oil production must increase to 5.2 million barrels per day (bpd) and this should come from the country's joint fields," the ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.