Azerbaijan, Baku, May.24/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran needs up to $10 billion to develop the Sardar-e Jangal oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea, ISNA quoted Khazar Oil Company managing director Ali Osuli as saying.
Despite all the problems in providing equipment and technology, the company has signed eight contracts with domestic companies and contractors in this regard, he added.
He did not mention the names of the companies and type of contracts, but said that SADRA was obliged to carry out 90 per cent of the projects. He also said that throughout the year, more contracts will be signed.
SADRA belongs to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
According to Osuli, the development of the field will take 10 years because it needs robust infrastructures, advanced technologies, and huge investments.
At present, an offshore field in shallow waters requires five times as much work as a similar onshore field, he said, adding that the figure is 10-15 times regarding offshore fields located in deep waters.
According to Iranian officials' latest announcements, the field's discovered oil and gas layers holds reserves totalling two billion barrels of light crude oil, 500 million of which is extractable alongside 1.4 trillion cubic meters of gas.
The Oil Ministry has highlighted the development of Sardar-e Jangal field and the provision of necessary funds in the current year. So, studies for starting early production have just started by a company affiliated to SADRA, the Iran Marine Industrial Company.
"Khazar Oil Company has signed up for 90 per cent of related contracts with SADRA and it is hoped that the latter will meet its obligations," Osuli said.
Building a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel will take at least three years. Meanwhile, establishing processing facilities on the Roudsar coast will be time-consuming, he added.
SADRA will build an FPSO as well, a first for Iran.
Sardar-e Jangal field's first well reportedly was drilled to a 700- metres in depth through benthos in 1000-metre deep waters.
The Iranians originally said the discovered field is a gas one, then on May 10, 2012, the Iranian Petroleum Ministry announced that the abovementioned field holds eight billion barrels of oil reserves as well. After that, Iranian officials have given different numbers about the total reserves such as two billion barrels of crude oil.
Iran has created a consortium to develop oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea, the Mehr News Agency quoted head of the maritime studies centre at Sharif University of Technology as saying on Wednesday.
A roadmap has been prepared to acquire technology for drilling in Caspian Sea deep waters, he added.
The Oil Ministry, Khazar Oil and a number of domestic universities have created the consortium, he said.
In April the Mehr News Agency quoted Osuli as saying that Iran will build the second submersible platform for the purpose of drilling operations in the Caspian Sea.
The platform will have the same specifications as the first platform, named Amir Kabir, which is currently in operation in the Caspian Sea, he added.
In addition to building the second platform, deals have been signed with Iranian manufacturers to design and build a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, he said.
The Amir Kabir platform has started drilling the second exploratory well at the Sardar Jangal field in the Caspian Sea, he noted.
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