Iranian oil firm ready to attract $20 billion investment

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

With the U.S. and the EU set to lift all sanctions against Iran, investors and entrepreneurs both in the Islamic Republic and the world have been actively looking at their options, determined to make the most out of this "market revival."

Iranian Offshore Oil Company has already announced that it stands to attract as much as $20 billion worth of investment for its projects for the current Iranian fiscal year (to end March 20, 2016).

Said Hafezi, CEO of the IOOC said the company will hold two tenders on repairing 40 old wells and drilling 15 new ones within the EPDF format, SHANA news agency reported.

These tenders are being drafted and domestic contractors will soon be able to place their bids, confirmed Hafezi.

He also hoped that as nuclear sanctions on Iran are to be lifted, the company will have access to all frozen assets.

Iran expects to strike a comprehensive nuclear deal with world powers before July 1. Following the deal, international sanctions on the country’s economy will be lifted and huge sums of Iranian oil money frozen in different countries will be freed.

Although there has been no official estimate as just how much of Iran's money has been frozen so far, the Head of the Parliament Research Center, Kazem Jalali said in August 2013 that foreign banks had blocked some $60 billion worth of Iranian assets. In turn, the U.S. administration said Iran 's frozen assets are estimated to be worth $100 billion.

Hafezi said earlier that two new platforms will be commissioned at Forouzan oil field in the current Iranian fiscal year.

Holding 157 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves, Iran possesses the world’s fourth largest reserve of crude oil. However, international sanctions have significantly hampered the development of the oil and gas industry as well as other industry sectors.

Iran needs about $30 billion per year to maintain its oil output and develop oil projects. Decline in investments has lead to delays and even pauses in development projects in the oil industry.

The U.S. and EU imposed sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors at the beginning of 2012 due to claims of potential deviation toward non-civilian purposes in Iran's nuclear energy program. Iran has repeatedly denied Western allegations against its nuclear energy program.

The sanctions are aimed to prevent other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran. At the end of 2012, EU foreign ministers reached an agreement on another round of sanctions against Iran.