OMV Signs MoU with Iran's Dana

Austria's OMV has signed a memo of understanding with Dana Energy, an Iranian company targeting oil and gas upstream field development activities.

OMV said January 25 that both parties agreed to evaluate possible upcoming development and re-development projects in the Iranian oil and gas industry. The document was signed in Vienna by Dana's upstream president S. Mostafa Khoee and his OMV counterpart, Johann Pleininger.

Dana was established in 2000 and describes itself as the largest private oil and gas company in Iran.

From left to right: Erwin Kröll (OMV Senior Vice President Middle East Hub), Johann Pleininger (OMV Board Member for Upstream), Mohammad Iravani (CEO and Chairman of the Board of Dana Energy), S. Mostafa Khoee (Dana Energy Board Member for Upstream), Naghi Iravani (Managing Director of Dana Oil Services)  (Photo credit: OMV)

OMV entered Iran in 2001 as the operator of the Mehr exploration block in western Iran, leading to a successful discovery (Band-E-Karkheh) in 2005.  In 2016 it signed a memo of understanding with state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) concerning the evaluation of various fields in the Zagros area in the west of Iran, for potential future development. OMV also signed a joint study agreement with NIOC Exploration for the Fars area.

OMV CEO Rainer Seele named Iran as one of his company’s three main upstream development priorities, with Russia and Norway, in February 2016.

Mark Smedley