The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has selected a list of 29 international exploration and production (E&P) companies to bid for the country's new oil and gas projects.
NIOC's main priority is to boost recovery factor in Yadavaran and Azadegan oil fields, while Chinese firms, Total and Shell are eager to develop West Karoun joint oilfields. Total, Shell, Russneft, Inpex Corporation have already signed MoUs or agreements with NIOC to carry out the study phase of South Azadegan developmental project.
NIOC will develop the oil and gas E&P projects by setting up joint ventures with international companies which will be paid with a share of the output. This new framework is replacing buyback deals in which the Government paid the contractor an agreed price for all volumes of hydrocarbons the contractor produced. Also, different stages of exploration, development and production will be offered to contractors as an integrated package, with the emphasis laid on enhanced and improved recovery.
The list of companies selected by NIOC includes European companies such as Total, Shell, Eni, Wintershall, Maersk, DNO, CEPSA and Gazprom as well as Asian players like CNPC, Inpex, KOGAS and Petronas.