Iran's oil ministry will invest $80 million in startups and knowledge-based firms, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh the country's oil minister said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony to open the Oil Innovation and Research Fund in Tehran on Tuesday, Zanganeh said: “The Oil Ministry is determined to create opportunities for startups so that they can improve different sectors of the energy industry, especially manufacturing pipes, turbines and compressors."
The fund will support knowledge-based companies interested in the oil-related sector. “The ministry wants startups to propose new ideas and innovative plans to help cut production costs and improve productivity in the key sector.”
The ministry’s R&D department is tasked with expanding technological facilities for the rapidly expanding startup companies.
Zanganeh opened the first Oil Technology Park in Shahr-e-Rey in south Tehran last year that is providing researchers aid and equipment to implement their plans.
Iran’s oil industry is facing major challenges especially since 2018 and after the US unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, and reimposed economic sanctions, including on the oil, tech, banking and transport sectors.
Startups have already produced and indigenized key catalysts and essential equipment and parts for the petrochemical and drilling sectors, Zanganeh noted.