Iran has called for tenders to develop the latest phases of the giant South Pars gas field in the Gulf, press reports said Sunday, quoting the National Iranian Oil Company.
The two tenders cover four phases 9,10,11,12. The total daily output is projected to be 105 million cubic meters (3.675 billion cubic feet) of gas and 160,000 barrels of crude oil.
The NIOC said bidders for the buy-back type contracts could be individual firms or consortia.
The first three phases of South Pars have already started production, while Italy's ENI won a contract to develop phases four and five estimated at 3.8 billion dollars.
Phases six to eight are in the hands of the British-registered Iranian company Petro-Pars, whose boss Mansur Rezvani said recently that foreign firms could be associated with the venture.
Iran has been seeking to develop its huge gas reserves, the second largest in the world after Russia, to reduce dependence on its oil, its main source of revenue - TEHRAN(AFP)
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