Baku, Azerbaijan, May 9
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
The National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) has allocated $3 billion for the development of Iran's joint gas fields, an official said.
Deputy Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for Investment and Finance Ali Kardor has said that the NDFI's contribution to the country's oil industry was allocated over the last Iranian calendar year, IRNA news agency reported.
He further added that the sum was spent on the development of the South Pars gas field.
He also said that the fund plans to allocate more resources for the development of gas fields on the west banks of the Karoun River in the country's Khuzestan Province, as well as South Pars gas field.
The NDF is Iran's sovereign wealth fund. It was founded in 2011 to replace the Oil Stabilization Fund.
The mentioned 20 percent of Iran's total oil income is to be transferred to the NDF and the percentage will be increasing 3 percent annually until the end of the country's fifth development plan, according to Iranian laws.
West Karoun oilfields are associated with Iraq in southwest of the country.
The oilfields are currently producing 300,000 barrels per day. The production capacity is scheduled to reach 1.4 million barrels per day by 2021.
South Azadegan oilfield, which is the largest field in the West Karoun region, will produce 600,000 barrels of oil per day.
South Azadegan, North Azadegan, Yadavaran, North Yaran, and South Yaran oilfields are located in the region.
The South Pars gas field is located in Persian Gulf off the coast of the southern Iranian province of Bushehr.
The development plan of South Pars gas field has been divided into 29 phases containing 40 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
The huge offshore field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, and the remaining 6,000 square kilometers are situated in Qatar's territorial waters.