Iran Replaces ONGC With IOOC for Offshore Block Development

Iran has awarded the development of an offshore hydrocarbon block in the Persian Gulf to Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) after India’s ONGC led consortium found the block unviable.

National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a five-billion-dollar deal with the Indian consortium in 2002 for the development of Farsi Block, which comprises Binaloud Oil Field and Farzad B Gas Field. 

Press TV reported that Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) have found in their studies that production of heavy crude oil from the field would be possible in the near future. 

Jalal Mousavi, R&D director of the IOOC, was quoted by Mehr News Agency as saying that a 6.8-million-euro agreement has been reached between the IOOC and Tehran University to conduct feasibility studies on the oil field, Press TV said. 

The Farsi block sits atop 508 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, 3.5 billion barrels of heavy crude and 212 million barrels of gas condensate. In the first phase of its development, the block will produce 1.1 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day of natural gas after drilling seven offshore wells.