Iran is negotiating with 16 international energy companies to help operate and manage 50 oil and natural gas projects around the country to boost production after years of international sanctions.
The projects are feasible even with oil at $40 a barrel, Gholam-Reza Manouchehri, a deputy director of the National Iranian Oil Co., told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday. The South Azadegan field on Iran’s southwestern border will be the first deal announced, and probably needs $10 billion to add 600,000 barrels a day of output, he said.
“We have a lot of companies approaching NIOC,” Manouchehri said. “I’m not sure when we’ll sign the first contract. I hope it will be earlier” than a year from now.