Iran: Indian Companies May Lose Stake In Farzad-B Gas Field

Iran: Indian companies may have to wash their own discovered Farzad-B gas field. India is on the verge of being excluded from the development and mining activities of a large gas field discovered in Iran by ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL).

Sources say that Iran has decided to transfer the development of this oil field to a domestic company instead of foreign companies. In 2008, this area named Farzad-B was discovered by OVL.

OVL and its partners had also promised to invest $ 11 billion (Rs 82,500 crore at the current price) in the development of the area.

But after years of ignoring the proposal, Iran’s national oil company NIOC told OVL in February this year that it intended to terminate the agreement with the company in Farzad-B.

OVL continued to negotiate with the NIOC for the development of the area even then and asked him to share the terms of the proposed agreement for evaluation.

But Iran has not yet responded to this. According to sources, the unconfirmed news is that Iran has decided to contract only a local company for the development of the region.

Farjad-B has reserves of about 21.7 lakh crore cubic feet of gas. About 60 percent of it can be mined. It is possible to produce 101 million cubics of gas per day.

However, OVL has not given up hope yet and is constantly talking to the Iranian government about this.

OVL was keen on a 40 percent stake in the operation of the project. He was followed by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) with 40 percent and Oil India Ltd (OIL) with 20 percent.

These are the events

OVL contracted for gas discovery service on 25 December 2002

NOIC declared the project commercially viable in August 2008

OVL had proposed the development of this gas field to the NIOC in April 2011.

In April 2015, negotiations resumed under the new rule of Iran’s petroleum contract.

In April 2016, no decision could be reached despite a detailed discussion on various aspects of the development of the project.

Technical negotiations could not be completed by the US again imposed a restrictive ban on Iran in November 2018.