Russians set record with Iran oil deal

The National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) and Russia’s Zarubezhneft have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop two oil fields in southwest Iran. 

The agreement signed in Tehran Monday allows the state-run Russian company to conduct technical surveys on Shadegan and Rag Sefid fields in Khuzestan Province.

NISOC Managing Director Bijan Alipour, who signed the agreement, said Zarubezhneft had undertaken to submit its development plan for enhancing oil recovery from the fields within nine months.

Rag Sefid was discovered in 1964 and is estimated to hold 16.5 billion barrels of reserves. Production from Shadegan near Ahvaz started in 1988 and the field is currently producing 70,000 barrels of oil a day.  

Alipour said NIOC and Zarubezhneft are further negotiating raising production from Aban and West Paydar oil fields. 

The contract with the Russian entity, he said, foresees transfer of technology beside financing of the projects.

Russian companies have signed a record number of oil and gas contracts with Iran since the lifting of sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

However, Total’s $5 billion agreement earlier this month to develop phase 11 of Iran’s giant South Pars gas field was the biggest single post-sanction deal, adding fresh momentum to the country’s bid to boost oil and gas output after years of under-investment.

Last week, Deputy Minister of Petroleum for International Affairs Amir Hosssein Zamaninia named BP, Russia's Gazprom and Lukoil, and Malaysia's Petronas among the international companies which were having discussions with the country.

Alipour cited leading oilfield services provider Schlumberger and London-based Pergas Consortium among the companies which were studying NISOC’s oil fields for development.

The company has undertaken to develop or enhance recovery from Shadegan, Rag Sefid, Karanj and Parsi fields.  

Dial with Japan’s Toyo

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) on Monday signed an MoU with Japan’s engineering group Toyo to revamp facilities and upgrade recovery at the Salman gas field in the Persian Gulf.

NIOC’s deputy for development and engineering Gholamreza Manouchehri said a consortium consisting of NIOC, Toyo and Iran’s Petropars will jointly finance studies on the field.

If the project proceeds to the development stage, the Japanese company will undertake the financing under an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Finance (EPCF) contract, he said.

Salman is an oil and gas field that straddles Iran’s maritime border with the UAE and is estimated to hold 473 million barrels of oil beside 5.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas.   

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