Iran eyeing $115bn in profits by developing Azadegan Oilfield
Iranian Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji says the development of Azadegan Oilfield would generate $115 billion in revenue and 24,000 jobs.
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Speaking in a televised interview regarding the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the integrated development of the joint Azadegan oil field between the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), banks, and exploration and production companies on Tuesday evening, Owji said Azadegan is a joint oil field between Iran and Iraq; the models for the development of the joint field have been designed with the planning and studies carried out by the NIOC in recent months, but financing was one of the important concerns about the project, which today using the capacity of banks and holdings, this issue was also sorted out.
“With an investment of nearly 7 billion dollars, the production capacity of this field will increase to 220,000 barrels in the second year of its development and in the next seven years, to 570,000 barrels of oil per day [from currency 190,000 b/d],” he added.
The Minister of Petroleum stated: “During the 20-year operation period of Azadegan field, if we consider the base price of oil per barrel to be 80 dollars, it will generate more than $115 billion in revenue and income for the country and create employment for 24,000 people. Also, operational measures for the enhanced production of this field will also be on the agenda soon.”
According to the NIOC, the project will entail drilling of more than 420 production and injection wells, construction of 5 manifolds, and installation of 315 to 320,000 kilometers of pipelines which will all be carried out by domestic developers and contractors.
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi described the signing of a 7 billion dollar MoU as an example of mobilizing the country's internal power and stated, "Directing liquidity in the direction of production growth, benefiting from technical power and attracting domestic investment are very effective in the economic growth and progress of the country”.
Speaking on Tuesday afternoon during the signing of the MoU ceremony Raisi described capital attraction and investment in the field of production boom and job creation among the most important needs of the country today, and said, "One of the goals and reasons for the implementation of economic reforms is to provide the basis for attracting capital to production”.
The president described the achievement of the 8% economic growth target to be dependent on the increase in investment and added, "The work done today as a result of the synergy and coming together of large economic companies as drivers of the economy to implement the integrated development plan of the shared Azadegan oil field is the first step in creating the fields of attracting capital in the path of production and economic growth."
Raisi described the involvement of banks as the second step of this move and stated, "Economic experts agree that creating liquidity is a cause for concern when it is not directed towards production, but if the increase in liquidity is used to promote and strengthen production bases, there will be no concern”.
The president said that one of the most important sectors for attracting investment and boosting production is the oil and petrochemical sector, adding, "What happened today was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between banks and large economic and technical companies for the implementation of a large oil project, in addition to providing resources for the implementation of a large project, is an example of mobilising domestic power and provides the basis for improving the confidence of private sector investors and people to participate in such large projects”.
Ayatollah Raisi emphasized that improving productivity should be taken into consideration along with attracting capital, and noted, "Increasing investment and improving productivity will lead to economic growth”.
The president stated that the conclusion of this memorandum should be taken as auspicious in order to synergize internal resources and capabilities, and said, "When big banks trusted by the people come to work in the implementation of such plans, the trust of the people and the private sector will also be gained in such plans”.
Raisi considered the implementation of such plans as an example of the effort to realize the slogan of the year "production, employment, knowledge-based" and added, "Attracting large funds and resources of banks and large economic companies for the development and progress of the country is a source of confidence for the people and disappointing for the enemies”.
The President stated, "In recent years, investment in the basic infrastructure of the country, including railways and electricity and the like, especially oil and energy, was not done as it should have been, but in the Popular Administration, we did not wait for outsiders, and therefore the people will see the promising and proud results of these investments.
