Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 23
By Fatih Karimov – Trend
Iran is displeased with the New Delhi-based ONGC’s proposal for development of Farzad B gas field, Mehr news agency reported Oct. 23.
Iran and ONGC have held several rounds of talks on the issue but the Indian side’s proposal on financial investment model for development of the gas field is not approved, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran’s oil minister said.
Iran has granted another opportunity for the Indian side to submit a “reasonable” financial investment model, Zanganeh said, adding a delegation from the company will visit Tehran within one month.
It will be the last chance for Indian company and Iran will make “another decision” if ONGC fails to offer a reasonable financial investment model during the upcoming visit, Zanganeh said.
Earlier in August it was announced that Iran and India have ended differences over development of Farzad B gas field and ONGC is expected to invest some $5 billion in the project.
Ali Akbar Shabanpour, managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company, said Aug. 24 that the parties will sign a HOA agreement in near future.
In 2008, a consortium of OVL (ONGC Videsh Ltd.), Oil India Ltd. and Indian Oil Corp. discovered the Farzad B gas field in the Farsi block, which is estimated to contain 12.8 trillion cubic feet of recoverable reserves.
In August 2010, OVL submitted a revised master development plan (MDP) for producing 60 percent of the field's in-place gas reserves, but did not sign a contract with the Iranian side out of fear it would be exposed to sanctions imposed by the US on Iran's energy sector, which did not allow foreign companies to invest more than $20 million a year in the country's energy sector.
After the West lifted sanctions against Iran under the nuclear agreement, OVL proposed a $3 billion field development plan to Iran to develop Farzad B.