Oil Minister: $5bn To Be Spent On Development Of Five Phases Of South Pars Field

Tehran, July 11, IRNA – Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi says $5 billion has been drawn from the National Development Fund (NDF) to be spent on development of five phases of South Pars. Qassemi said based on this year’s budget law, 18 percent of the NDF would be allocated to the oil industry projects. He said another five billion dollars will be spent on oil projects that are of high priority. The National Development Fund was founded in 2011 to replace the Oil Stabilization Fund. Its reserves stood at $24.4 billion dollars in 2011 and $35 billion in 2012. It is foreseen that the Fund reserves will reach $55 billion by March 2013. Based on Article 84 of the Fifth Five-Year Socio Economic Development Plan (2011–2015), the National Development Fund was established to transform oil and gas revenues to productive investment for future generation. The money will increasingly be deposited in domestic banks. Accordingly, 20% of oil income is to be transferred to the National Development Fund. The new fund is to extend 50% of its financial facilities to private, cooperative and non-governmental sectors and 20% to promote foreign investment. The NDF has inked contracts with the Bank of Industry and Mine, the Sepah Bank, and the Exports Development Bank to allocate $9 billion to industry and mine, energy, cooperatives and agriculture in 2012. Iran also announced that it will allocate $14 billion from the NDF to oil project./end