Iran signs contracts worth $2bn to develop oil industry

Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum has signed four new contracts worth over 2 billion dollars with the private sector to develop its oil and gas fields.

The head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Mohsen Khojasteh Mehr signed the contracts on Sunday for the development of Changuleh and Band-e Karkheh oil fields in Iran’s west and southwest to hit the production target of 60,000 and 18,000 barrels of oil per day respectively.

Khojasteh Mehr said during the past 2 ½ years since the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took office, the outgoing administration has signed 22.5 billion dollars’ worth of contracts, 88 percent of which were for oil fields.

He compared the figure to the contracts in the previous administrations which stood at 13 billion dollars for a four-year complete presidential term.

Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Owji also addressed the ceremony, saying the current administration has about 300 oil projects on the agenda, 153 of which have become operational.

He also echoed the late president’s view that the officials rely on indigenous expertise for major projects.

President Raisi and seven of his companions died in a helicopter crash on May 19. Iranians will go to the polls on June 28 to elect a successor.

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