Iranian company inks $600m deal to develop Yaran oilfield

TEHRAN,Nov. 30 (MNA) - Electric Power Research Center of Iran (MATN) and Energy Persia Company signed a $600-million deal on Tuesday to develop Yaran oilfield in west Iran. The field holds an estimated 1.1 billion barrels of crude reserve, NIOC managing director Ahmad Qalebani told reporters on the sidelines of the signing ceremony. “An early production of 10,000-15,000 barrels per day is expected to be started within 24 months,” the NIOC head explained. Earlier, Qalebani said that 20 contracts will be signed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2012) to develop joint oilfields. Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said in August that the government should consider plans for the development of joint oilfields in the border areas with Iraq. The government should increase the budgets for the development of joint oilfields, Qasemi said at a meeting with the Iranian oil industry contractors. "The oil industry's infrastructure needs more than 500 trillion rials (about 50 billion U.S. dollars) of investment to achieve the goals of the 20-Year Outlook Plan," Qasemi said. “By the end of the fifth development plan (2015), the country’s oil production must increase to 5.2 million barrels per day (bpd) and this should happen from the country’s joint fields,” Qasemi said. Officials have put Iran’s current output at between 3.6 million and 4 million bpd. Hormoz Qalavand, head of the National Iranian Southern Oil Company, told recently that Iran’s oil production is 3.92 million bpd.