India’s Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan will push for state-run firms to win development rights for the vast Farzad B gas field in Iran during a visit to the Middle Eastern country next month.
India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and fourth-biggest consumer, wants to increase dealings with Persian Gulf countries that supply the bulk of its oil needs.
Pradhan said he is hopeful a deal on Farzad B could be concluded during his visit to Tehran on April 9-10.
“In Iran our primary interest is in E&P (exploration and production). We have old engagements with Iran and we continued to buy oil from Iran in difficult times,” he told reporters.
A consortium headed by ONGC Videsh, the overseas exploration unit of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, discovered the Farzad B gas field in the Farsi offshore block in 2008, but was unable to get permission to develop it due to anti-Iran sanctions.
ONGC Videsh last year submitted a $3 billion field development plan to Iranian authorities to develop Farzad B, which is estimated to hold initial in-place reserves of 12.5 trillion cubic feet, with a lifetime of 30 years.
India was one of a few countries that never halted oil imports from Iran during sanctions. India is Iran’s second-biggest oil client after China.
Pradhan said he will also discuss India’s interest in developing Chabahar port in Tehran and building industrial complexes there.
(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)
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