Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 28 / Trend F.Milad/
Iran plans to sign a contract by the end of the current calendar year (March 20, 2012) to develop the Dehloran oilfield, which is associated with Iraq, in order to increase its output to 25,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 7,000 bpd, the ISNA news agency reported.
Iran produces some 68,000 barrels per day of crude oil in four oilfields associated with Iraq (Naftshahr, Pardar Gharb, Dehloran and Aban), the report added.
Iran is by no means lagging Iraq in developing joint oilfields, the managing director of the National Iranian Central Oilfields Company said on December 10.
Mehdi Fakour added that currently eight drilling rigs are in operation in joint oilfields with Iraq and the output is satisfactory.
Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said in August that the Iranian government should consider plans for the development of joint oilfields in the border areas with Iraq, the IRNA news agency reported.
The government should increase the budgets for the development of joint oilfields, Qasemi added.
"The oil industry's infrastructure needs more than 500 trillion rials (about $50 billion) of investment to achieve Iran's 20-year economic perspective plan goals," Qasemi was quoted as saying.
"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," the ISNA news agency quoted Qasemi as saying.
National Iranian Oil Company's managing director Ahmad Qalebani said earlier this month that the NIOC is ready to conclude buy-back contracts with domestic investors.
Qalebani added that 20 contracts will be signed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year to develop joint oilfields.
