Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 30/ Trend M. Moezzi, D.Khatinoglu/
In a letter to more than 50 subsidiaries and some semi-private companies, Iran's Oil Ministry banned working with one of the country's biggest petroleum contractor, which be introduced by Mehr News Agency as abbreviation "S.E".
The banned company is "Sepehr Energy Corporation a subsidary of Iran's Saderat Bank" a source familiar with the matter in Iran told Trend on Sunday.
Approved by Iran's Oil Minister, Rostam Ghasemi, the letter prohibits subsidiaries of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), National Iranian Gas Company, National Petrochemical Company and the National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Company from conducting any transactions with the contracting and investment company, Mehr news agency reports.
The heads of Iran's petroleum companies are prohibited from signing any contracts with the company's managing director, members of its board of directors, subsidiaries and retirement fund even in the country's provinces.
Sepehr Energy Corporation, has signed multiple large contracts valued at around $10 billion since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began his second term in 2009. It is also a subsidiary of one of Iran's biggest banks.
A number of senior managers, deputies serving the Oil Minister and managing directors of NIOC subsidiaries have been questioned by the General Inspection Office and other regulatory agencies.
Notably, a number of private businesses working in the oil industry have been sent a copy of the letter and asked to refrain from any dealings with Sepehr.
Over the last three years, the now-banned company signed contracts worth approximately $4 billion for two big gas projects and a $6 billion contract to develop a gas field.