Iran plans to launch long-awaited new upstream oil and gas contracts at a three-day international conference in Tehran from January 30, the conference organizers said Tuesday.
International oil companies hoping to invest in Iran's upstream oil and gas sector have been waiting for the launch of the contract since January but have seen several delays as parliament demands revisions to the model, which is seen by some as granting big concessions to foreigners.
State-owned National Iranian Oil Co. said it will reveal details of a few fields up for auction at a separate event to be held September 22 to October 21 and covering tenders for work by Iran's domestic companies.
The new event in January is where Iran could unveil prized assets which it hopes will draw international attention, along with investment and new technology to add some 2 million b/d of new crude production capacity.
Iran is currently producing around 3.85 million b/d and hopes to reach 4 million b/d by the end of the year.
NEW CRUDE GRADE ALMOST READY
Separately, Iran could receive a major boost to oil production as it prepares to export a new crude oil grade, known as West Karoun. NIOC is close to completing infrastructure work on facilities to handle the heavy oil.
NIOC director for international affairs Seyed Mohsen Ghamsari told Reuters news agency at a conference in Singapore that Iran would be ready to separate the crude grade as soon as the pipeline and terminal was completed.
It is expected to compete with Iraq's Basrah Heavy crude which has an average quality of 23-24 API degrees, and has proved increasingly popular among Asian and US refiners since its launch in June last year.
West Karoun will be produced from a number of fields, including the 31 billion barrel Yadavaran field in southwest Khuzestan province, straddling the border with Iraq. Currently around 200,000 b/d is produced from the area, but this could be increased to more than 300,000 b/d.
