Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 18/ Trend M. Moezzi /
Iran will start work on eight oil and gas fields if it finds domestic and foreign funding for the projects, Mehr news agency quotes an official as saying.
Given its limited financial resources, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has prioritized the fields' development and will work on them as they are funded, said Mehdi Fakour, head of the Iranian Central Oil Fields Company (IOFC).
The NIOC had plans to develop 13 new oil fields in Iran's central regions but it has given priority to developing its joint oil and gas fields before starting independent projects.
Iran needs over $2 billion to develop its gas fields and nearly $900 million to support projects in regions where oil and gas operations are going on.
The country has been under increasing pressure as the U.S. and its Western allies have imposed sanctions against Iran's oil industry and its central bank and prodded other nations to stop working with Iran on projects and buying its oil. The European Union formally imposed an oil embargo on Iran and agreed to a freeze on the assets of the Central Bank of Iran on January 23, but existing contracts will be honored until July 1.