Seventeen European and Asian oil companies will compete in a $200 million oil tender in Iran early in March, the managing director of North Drilling Company stated.
Hedayatollah Khademi told the Mehr news agency that the companies are from Germany, France, Norway, China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Malaysia which are to take part in a tender in the field of drilling oil and gas wells.
The tender is categorized into five sections and the winners will have a 50-percent share with the North Drilling Company in each of the sections.
Oil reserves in Iran rank third largest in the world at approximately 136 billion barrels as of 2007, although it ranks second if Canadian reserves of unconventional oil are excluded. This is roughly 10 percent of the world''s total proven petroleum reserves. Iran is the world''s fourth largest oil producer and is OPEC''s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia.
Iran has the world''s second largest reserves of natural gas (15% of the world''s total). It contains an estimated 974 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in proven natural gas reserves. About 62% of these reserves are located in non-associated fields.
