Iranian minister says oil industry needs minimum $30b investment this year

TEHRAN, April 5 (MNA) - Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has said that at least $30 billion should be invested in the domestic oil industry this year, which began on March 20. He added that a major portion of the sum will be allocated to the South Pars gas field projects. The South Pars gas field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share, which is divided into 29 phases, has about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight percent of the total world reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources. Iran sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia. The National Iranian Oil Company’s managing director said on Tuesday that 16 contracts, worth around $21 billion, were signed last year. Ahmad Qalebani added that according to the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015), some $30 billion should be invested in oil and gas industries each year. Qasemi had previously said that the global economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic would not hinder the country’s oil industry development. Rostam Qasemi said that the ministry is committed to accelerating the implementation of its development plans, financed through the financial system and through government bonds.