The National Iranian Oil Company has prepared a long-term plan to attract foreign and domestic investments worth $145 billion over the next four years.
Oil Minister Javad Owji made the statement while vising the head of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) office, Zhong Gouydoung, in Tehran on Tuesday, the Oil Ministry’s news portal Shana reported.
“The investment will be primarily used for developing shared oil and gas fields,” he added, noting that NIOC is willing to resume cooperation with Chinese oil giants, including Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corporation, as they are distinctly familiar with Iran’s hydrocarbon reserves.
Sinopec has already participated in the development of Iran’s Yadavaran Oilfield in Khuzestan Province near the Iraqi border. It also signed a deal worth $1 billion to develop Abadan Oil Refinery, Iran's oldest crude processing facility in the southern oil-rich Khuzestan Province.
Oil experts believe that the economy will struggle if the oil industry, the engine of economic growth, does not get the long-awaited impetus after years of underinvestment.
Owji cautioned that collaboration with multinational firms should not be translated as relying on foreign expertise and workforce because domestic manufacturers and contractors will get the lion's share of work in the new energy projects.
"The oil industry is gearing up for a big leap forward," the minister said, adding that local contractors' capacity "is incomparable with the past", which will help them play a key role alongside multinationals in oil and gas projects.