Southern gas field secures $600m investment for 20-year development
Iran signed a $600 million contract on Sunday to develop and operate the Madar gas field in the southern province of Bushehr, aiming to boost output and attract investment into the country’s energy sector.
The agreement was signed by senior oil industry officials, including Hamid Bovard, deputy oil minister and head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC); Hamidreza Araqi, chairman of the state-owned Oil Industries Engineering and Construction (OIEC) group; and Saeed Zarandi, chief executive of Mobarakeh Steel Company, IRIB reported.
The 20-year project is expected to yield about 65 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 127 million barrels of gas condensates.
Planned works include completing 20 wells – 19 new and one workover – as well as building wellhead facilities, 70 kilometers of flowlines, 33 kilometers of production pipelines, and units for metering, separation and water treatment.
In addition to accelerating the development of the Madar field, the project is estimated to create new opportunities for steel industry participation in upstream oil and gas.
The plan is also projected to generate roughly $16.7 billion in revenue for the government over the life of the contract.
Officials said the scheme also aims to maximize recovery from the field, create jobs in underdeveloped areas of the Province of Bushehr, and draw new investment into Iran’s oil and gas sector.