Iran Mulls Upping Shah Deniz Stake

Iran is mulling raising stake in Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz natural gas project.

"Several fields and projects in some countries are being examined," said Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs Hossein Zamani-Nia on Tuesday, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

"Shah Deniz is one of those fields but a final decision has not yet been made," he added.

Naftiran Intertrade Company, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), holds a 10-percent stake in Shah Deniz field, which is estimated to contain 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.

Recently,  Lukoil, which has a 10 per cent interest in the Shah Deniz II gas field $1 billion finance from The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Prodcution from second stage is expected to begin in 2018. First phase production began in 2006.

The Shah Deniz gas field was discovered in 1999. It is located on the deep water shelf of the Caspian Sea, 70 kilometres south-east of Baku, Azerbaijan in water depths ranging from 50 to 500 metres.