POGC To Back Foreign Companies

Tehran, May 11, IRNA - The Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) will support foreign companies willing to join hands for cooperation, said POGC’s managing director. In an exclusive interview with the English-language newspaper ˈIran Dailyˈ published Sunday, Ali Akbar Sha’banpour said foreign companies are keen to help implement the development projects of South Pars (SP) Gas Field. “POGC has signed EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) agreements with domestic contractors for launching SP phases. However, if foreign firms announce readiness, they will be introduced to the main contractors for further negotiations,” he said. The official noted that domestic and foreign contractors can discuss grounds for cooperation and the project’s executive stages, including designing, engineering, project management and supply of goods and equipment. Sha’banpour stressed that if the two sides agree to begin cooperation, POGC, as the SP Gas Field’s executor, will support foreign contractors. “If after signing agreements with domestic contractors, foreign companies still have concerns, by giving them guarantees, POGC will help them implement the projects safely and confidently,” he said. “SP Gas Field has a capacity of producing 820 million cubic meters (mcm) and 1 mcm of gas and gas condensates per day respectively.” The POGC chief announced that before winter, SP’s gas production capacity will grow by 100 mcm per day. “Since each cubic meter of gas is sold at 25 cents, the value of each SP phase will amount to $3.8 billion per year. If we multiply the figure by 29 SP phases, it will reach a remarkable figure,” he said. He stressed that by optimizing the capabilities of domestic constructors and producers, the country should exploit this considerable potential. Sha’banpour said so far, 10 SP phases have become operational, while seven phases will be launched in the next two years and 10 others will go on stream by 2017. He urged domestic producers and contractor to further cooperate with and support POGC in this regard. “By indigenizing production of spare parts and technologies for implementing oil and gas projects, Iran can turn into a major international oil and gas producer, and will be able to increase its competitiveness in foreign markets,” he said. In line with the policies of the government and Oil Ministry, POGC intends to expand cooperation with domestic producers in manufacturing goods and strategic equipments, and increase the share of domestic companies in completing SP Gas Field’s projects./end