Azerbaijan , Baku, March 7 / Trend, A.Yusifzade /
Iran has established the first Energy Fund with the capital of $10 billion backed by the Bank Mellat and other Iranian banks to help to finance 41 investment projects in the oil industry, Naft News reported quoting the Head of the Planning Department of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Abdol Mohammad Delparish as saying.
"The National Energy Fund, with the help of the resources provided by Iranian Bank Mellat and a consortium of local banks has been established to help to finance major parts of the oil industry's activities," Delparish said.
According to Delparish, the National Iranian Oil Company received about $4.5 billion of investments through Bank Saderat.
Iranian officialsestimate that Iran's annual oil and gas revenues could reach $250 billion by 2016 once the current projects come on stream.
Analysts say Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude exporter, needs inflows of capital and more foreign investment to help expand and modernize its all-important energy sector.
Earlier Iranian minister of petroleum Seyed Masoud Mirkazemi said that the fund would pave the way for both local and foreign firms to take part in Iranian energy projects.
"By using domestic resources we would pave the way for the presence of local firms in oil and gas projects, but at the same time we won't block attracting foreign resources," he said.
"It is necessary to invest in the country's oil and gas development projects, particularly in joint fields with the neighboring states," Mirkazemi said without mentioning any figure.
Meanwhile, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran (OIETAI) Director General Behrouz Alishiri said on Feb. 2 that Iran has attracted about $2.7 billion of foreign investments in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2010).
The Managing Director of National Iranian Petrochemical Company (NIPC), Abdolhossein Bayat said that foreign investment to Iran's oil and gas industry has decreased compared to a year ago. He explained the cut with the recession in the global markets particularly European markets.
"The amount of investment also reduced in Qatar and Saudi Arabia's petrochemical industries, as well," Bayat underscored.
According to Bayat, even European nations suffered drop in investments, Mehr News Agency reported quoting Bayat as saying.
It is the best time for the investors to seize this golden opportunity and invest in the sector which will yield considerable returns, Bayat said.
Since the privatization of petrochemicals is underway, both foreign and domestic private investors can make investments ranging from one to 100 percent and can be entitled to ownership.
The petrochemicals industry has become an important aspect of Iran's non-oil economy and the basis of the country's economic diversification.
Around 40 percent of non-oil exports were from the petrochemicals industry in fiscal year 2009-2010. This can attract foreign investment in the country.
Iranian petrochemical sector produced 31.113 million tons of petrochemical products over the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2010).
Iran currently produces 25.8 percent of petrochemical products of the Middle East and 2.4 percent of the global output.
The West says Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its civilian atomic program. Iran denies the claim, saying it needs the technology to generate power.
