29 May 2011
Feedstock for refinery and petrochemical complexes can be procured with the ceding of the onshore section of the South Pars gas field to the private sector, announced the managing director of National Iranian Petrochemical Company (NIPC).
Speaking at a roundtable themed 'Examining the role of private sector in removing bottlenecks of oil and gas industry' Abdolhussein Bayat said except for four specialized mother companies of the Oil Ministry, all other activities could be ceded to the private sector, which could in turn set up a consortium, IRNA reported.
"Capital recovery rate in this sector is above 50 percent and this can serve as the best incentive for the private sector," he noted.
He recalled that policy-making in oil industry has been geared towards exploitation and not investment and this problem can be overcome by presenting Sukuk (Islamic equivalent of bonds) and other participation bonds.
The official expressed his satisfaction with the extensive opportunities that have arisen in the oil industry and said grounds have been created for making effective use of these opportunities.
Bayat underlined that there are no legal obstructions to the private sector activities in oil and gas sector.
"Unwanted red tape and shortfalls of the supervisory system slow the pace of decision-making in oil industry," he noted.
Exploitation of Oil, Gas Resources
Addressing the same roundtable, head of Majlis Energy Commission Hamid Reza Katouzian said making optimum use of oil and gas resources leads to big changes in economic and social arenas and it is crucial to prevent wastage of these two assets.
Katouzian added Iran holds 140 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and it also has a suitable position in the world in terms of natural gas.
"At present, Iran ranks fourth in the world for production of both oil and gas. On the whole, Iran ranks first in the world in terms of hydrocarbon reserves and this in itself is a big opportunity for advancement," he noted.
He recalled that the challenges facing the Oil Ministry include internal problems and also technical and technological drawbacks while powerful and experienced managers can help resolve these challenges.
"Oil Ministry is among ministries in which the duration of managerial systems has been shorted during the tenure of different governments. This is also valid for subgroups of this ministry. This is while stability of management system is of paramount importance in the oil industry. There are problems in investing in oil industry and some of them pertain to the resistance of the nation against global arrogance and its insistence on using peaceful nuclear energy. The enemies have imposed sanctions against the country, but sanctions do not necessarily block investments in oil industry," he noted.
Revenues Transparent
He emphasized that the income of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is transparent and specified and this is constantly monitored by supervisory organizations such as Supreme Audit Court of Iran (SAC).
The lawmaker warned that currently half of the oil fields of the country have reached half of their lifetime and exploitation from them has decreased.
"It is necessary to make suitable investments so that oil production would not become problematic. ... The national oil and gas industry needs a leap forward to fulfill the targets of Vision-2025. Amid this, using new technologies is an important consideration and in addition to this specialized work force should be recruited and nurtured," he pointed out.
He said exploitation from the joint South Pars gas field has not yet reached a favorable level and more efforts should be made to achieve this.
South Pars gas field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian sector, which is divided into 24 phases, holds about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight percent of the total global reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources.
Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia.
Feedstock for refinery and petrochemical complexes can be procured with the ceding of the onshore section of the South Pars gas field to the private sector, announced the managing director of National Iranian Petrochemical Company (NIPC).
Speaking at a roundtable themed 'Examining the role of private sector in removing bottlenecks of oil and gas industry' Abdolhussein Bayat said except for four specialized mother companies of the Oil Ministry, all other activities could be ceded to the private sector, which could in turn set up a consortium, IRNA reported.
"Capital recovery rate in this sector is above 50 percent and this can serve as the best incentive for the private sector," he noted.
He recalled that policy-making in oil industry has been geared towards exploitation and not investment and this problem can be overcome by presenting Sukuk (Islamic equivalent of bonds) and other participation bonds.
The official expressed his satisfaction with the extensive opportunities that have arisen in the oil industry and said grounds have been created for making effective use of these opportunities.
Bayat underlined that there are no legal obstructions to the private sector activities in oil and gas sector.
"Unwanted red tape and shortfalls of the supervisory system slow the pace of decision-making in oil industry," he noted.
Exploitation of Oil, Gas Resources
Addressing the same roundtable, head of Majlis Energy Commission Hamid Reza Katouzian said making optimum use of oil and gas resources leads to big changes in economic and social arenas and it is crucial to prevent wastage of these two assets.
Katouzian added Iran holds 140 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and it also has a suitable position in the world in terms of natural gas.
"At present, Iran ranks fourth in the world for production of both oil and gas. On the whole, Iran ranks first in the world in terms of hydrocarbon reserves and this in itself is a big opportunity for advancement," he noted.
He recalled that the challenges facing the Oil Ministry include internal problems and also technical and technological drawbacks while powerful and experienced managers can help resolve these challenges.
"Oil Ministry is among ministries in which the duration of managerial systems has been shorted during the tenure of different governments. This is also valid for subgroups of this ministry. This is while stability of management system is of paramount importance in the oil industry. There are problems in investing in oil industry and some of them pertain to the resistance of the nation against global arrogance and its insistence on using peaceful nuclear energy. The enemies have imposed sanctions against the country, but sanctions do not necessarily block investments in oil industry," he noted.
Revenues Transparent
He emphasized that the income of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is transparent and specified and this is constantly monitored by supervisory organizations such as Supreme Audit Court of Iran (SAC).
The lawmaker warned that currently half of the oil fields of the country have reached half of their lifetime and exploitation from them has decreased.
"It is necessary to make suitable investments so that oil production would not become problematic. ... The national oil and gas industry needs a leap forward to fulfill the targets of Vision-2025. Amid this, using new technologies is an important consideration and in addition to this specialized work force should be recruited and nurtured," he pointed out.
He said exploitation from the joint South Pars gas field has not yet reached a favorable level and more efforts should be made to achieve this.
South Pars gas field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian sector, which is divided into 24 phases, holds about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight percent of the total global reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources.
Iran has the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia.
© Iran Daily 2011
