TEHRAN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) on Sunday signed contracts worth 13 billion U.S. dollars for the development of six oilfields with a number of domestic contractors, Shana News Agency affiliated with the Iranian Oil Ministry reported.
The signing ceremony was held in the Iranian capital Tehran and attended by Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, Oil Minister Javad Owji, and NIOC's Managing Director Mohsen Khojastehmehr, the report said.
The contracts pertain to the development of Azadegan, Azar, Masjed Soleyman, Soumar, Saman and Delavaran oilfields located in western and southwestern Iran, according to Shana.
A 20-year contract valued at 11.5 billion dollars was signed for the "integrated" development of the Azadegan field, Iran's largest joint oilfield, which is shared with Iraq. The contract was signed with Dasht Azadegan Arvand Oil and Gas Development Company, the report said.
The Azadegan field, also known as Majnoon in Iraq, is situated in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan. The contract aims to increase the field's daily oil production from 205,000 barrels to 550,000 barrels.
The report added that a deal was inked with Sarvak Azar Engineering and Development Company for the development of the Azar oilfield, another oilfield jointly shared with Iraq that is located in the western Iranian province of Ilam. The 20-year contract is valued at 1.03 billion dollars and its objective is to enhance oil extraction from the oilfield.
Masjed Soleyman, located in Khuzestan province, is Iran's oldest oilfield, whose 14-year development contract valued at 260 million dollars, was signed with Sina Energy Gostar Company. The objective of this contract is to maximize the field's oil production, according to the report.
Shana reported that under a 20-year contract worth 245 million dollars, the development of Soumar, Saman and Delavaran oilfields, located in western Iran, were ceded to two domestic companies, namely Well Services of Iran and Petro Iranian Arvand. The objective is to maximize the oil production from these fields.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the signing ceremony, the Iranian oil minister highlighted that with the implementation of these projects, the country's oil extraction would witness a surge by 400,000 barrels per day and 60,000 jobs would be created.
During the signing ceremony, the NIOC's CEO said the 400,000-barrel increase in production would raise the daily oil output of the oilfields to 620,000 barrels, generating an additional income of 15 billion dollars per year.
Khojastehmehr said that the six oilfields collectively harbor approximately 38 billion barrels of in situ oil reserves.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration affiliated with the Department of Energy, Iran possessed an estimated total of 209 billion barrels of oil reserves by the end of 2021, ranking the country as the world's third-largest holder of crude oil. ■
