Iran in talks with LUKoil over North Azadegan Oilfield

"Negotiations are at primary stage. We are exchanging data on the field, and we hope LUKoil will offer the Master Development Plan (MDP) in future," Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Gholam-Hossein Nozari as saying.

Elsewhere, the official said that gas injection into oilfields declines during cold season because of growing domestic consumption. "The decline in gas injection will hopefully be alleviated once phases 6-8 at the South Pars (SP) gas field come on stream," he added.

Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh already told ISNA that the gas produced from SP phases 6-8 would be used for injection into the oilfields.

According to the managing director of the Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC), Akbar Torkan, phases 6-8 are to become operational by the end of the current Iranian year, falling on March 20, 2007. MNA