Iran's energy sector review

As Iran is planning to attract $100 billion worth of investment by 2021 to develop its oil and gas fields, it seems that foreigners would face a challenge in Iran: competing with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order aka (EIKO). IRGC is still blacklisted by the US, but the nuclear agreement, commenced in January 2016, lifted sanctions against the EIKO, a vast holding company controlled by the supreme leader with assets and commercial operations worth an estimated $95 billion. Therefore, foreign companies would be cautious to cooperate, while the pressure on Iranian government for signing mega contracts with IRGC and EIKO continues. Earlier, Iran’s oil ministry and French Total signed a confidentiality agreement for studying giant South Azadegan oil field. Iran’s Oil ministry said that the mentioned agreement doesn’t mean that Iran commits to give away the development of this field to Total. However Fars News Agency, close to...

Iran says it is getting ready to complete a pipeline and a terminal to export a "new grade" of crude by year-end. Seyed Mohsen Ghamsari, director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, told Reuters that the terminal near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf would be ready to export initially 300,000 barrels per day (b/d) of the new grade of crude. The report didn’t mention which fields would produce the new grade oil, but SHANA covered the Reuters’ report in Persian and added that the new type of oil belongs to West Karoun block. This block includes five fields – all of them are joint fields with Iraq’s Basra region. Reuters, itself also mentioned that "the crude blend will be of similar quality to Iraq's Basra Heavy crude, with an API gravity of between 22 and 26 degrees and a sulphur content higher than 2 percent.” West Karoun Block West Karoun includes North and South Azadegan, Yadavaran and North and South Yaran fields with 64 bil...