Iran has invested a total of $20 billion in various sectors of its oil industry during the past year, Oil Minister Javad Owji said.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Owji said the administration has made investments of $20 billion in different sectors of the oil industry during the past 12 months.
He said the investments have been made through contracts and memoranda of understanding.
Owji also noted that the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi has defined 20 top-priority projects in the oil production sphere with an eye to resistance economy in order to prevent the sale of unprocessed crude oil.
The minister also noted that contracts have been signed with six specialized companies for the implementation of five projects with top priority.
On Tuesday, Iran awarded a major oilfield development contract to a consortium of local banks and petroleum companies.
President Ebrahim Raisi oversaw the signing of the contract to develop the Azadegan oilfield with a total investment value of $7 billion.
The president described the project as a manifestation of Iran’s ability to mobilize domestic resources to develop large-scale infrastructure projects.
Azadegan is the name of the Iranian part of a giant oil reserve that straddles the border with Iraq in southwestern Iran. Iraq has committed to a huge investment to develop its side of the field, known as Majnoon, while similar plans in Iran have faced problems in recent years because of sanctions that ban access to foreign investment and technology.
According to reports, the new development project will increase crude oil output from Azadegan by nearly three times in seven years to nearly 570,000 barrels per day.
Source » eurasiareview