Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 20
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran will resume exploration operations at its northwestern Moghan oilfield, Majid Khodabakhsh, governor general of Ardabil province, said.
Khodabakhsh said that an Ukrainian company was interested in investing in exploration project, however it forced to withdraw under the international sanctions against Iran, IRNA news agency reported Dec. 20.
He further said that the Exploration Department of Iran’s National Iranian Oil Company has warned the Ukrainian firm to resume its activities, otherwise legal measures will be taken on the issue.
If the Ukrainian company rejects to start the exploration activities, talks will be held with domestic investors to finance the project, Khodabakhsh added.
Moghan oilfield, which was discovered 45 years ago, has remained undeveloped so far. The field is considered to have two oil blocks with estimated reserves of more than 3 billion barrels of oil. The reserves are said to be of light quality, which is particularly suitable in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Initial estimations have made the necessary investment for the development of the oilfield at $141.8 million, $40.3 million of which will be spent on exploration operations.
In April 2008 Croatian oil and gas firm INA signed a $141-million deal with the National Iranian Oil Company for developing Moghan-2 oil and gas block, however it decided to withdraw from the project in 2013, due to "problems related to foreign currency exchange."