Iran Awards US$1.8 billion Gas Field Contract to Petropars
Iran’s Petropars Ltd will be awarded a US$1.78 billion contract by the National Iranian Oil Company to develop the giant Farzad-B gas field which was previously intended to be tapped by a group of Indian companies.
Petropars will produce 28 million cubic metres of gas a day from the offshore deposit within five years, according to the agreement, the Iranian oil ministry’s official Shana news service reported, with the contract to be signed on the 17th May. Farzad-B is estimated to hold reserves of around 500 billion cubic metres.
An Indian consortium led by ONGC Videsh Ltd was engaged in talks with Iran to develop the field but disagreements over investment volume and gas prices delayed progress and negotiations stalled completely after the US reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018.
Prior to those penalties, Iran had intended to jointly develop several major oil and gas projects with foreign energy companies as part of a push to modernise its industry and improve expertise and know-how.
Farzad-B is the latest major energy project awarded to Petropars following the exodus of foreign companies from the Islamic Republic’s oil and gas industry. Last year, it took over the development of an offshore phase of Iran’s South Pars field after its partners Total SA and China National Petroleum Corporation quit the US$5 billion project because of sanctions.
Iran is priming its oil fields — and customer relationships — so it can increase production and exports as it inches closer to an agreement with the US which could lift sanctions on its economy and revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
Source: Rigzone