Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 3 / Trend F.Milad/
The first phase of developing the South Azadegan oilfield, as the largest oilfield shared by Iran and Iraq, will start by March, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) managing director said, Mehr reported.
"Also the project contractor has delayed on starting the development operations, but the plan will kick off by the end of the current calendar year (March 20, 2012)," the NIOC head Ahmad Qalebani noted.
In 2009, China National Petroleum Corporation and the National Iranian Oil Company signed a $1.76 billion deal to develop the Azadegan field, where they hope to extract 75,000 barrels per day.
The Chinese company has so far invested some 6 million dollars in the project and it will invest more than 200 million dollars once the project is launched.
The National Iranian Oil Company has previously said that it will invest 12 billion dollars in the project in the next ten years to reach the oilfield's output to 600,000 barrels per day in the first two development phases.
The Azadegan is one of the world's largest oilfields, with estimated reserves of 42 billion barrels of oil.
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