IRNA � The international ender for the Azadegan oil field development is already underway, Minister of Petroleum said on Monday.


We have already invited the international energy companies to submit their tenders regarding the development of the Azadegan oil field, Bijan Zangeneh said on Monday, adding that negotiations are underway with other companies as well on limited tenders basis.

Azadegan oil field is located in southern Iran, 80 km west of the Khuzestan provincial city of Ahvaz. With 37 billion barrels of oil, the field is Iran�s largest and is shared with the neighboring country Iraq.

Responding to a question on whether the new oil contracts would be signed with the international companies while the incumbent government still is in power, Zanganeh expressed hope that the deals would be signed.

After the implementation of the nuclear deal between Tehran and major world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) the international oil companies started negotiating with Iran in a bid to engage with the country�s oil sector, the Iranian Minister of Petroleum said.

�In some cases the talks have resulted in signing of memorandums of understanding or agreements-in-principle,� Zangeneh added.

Ministry of Petroleum has announced that the Azadegan oil field will be among Iran�s first fields for which international tenders will be held.

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) was expected to complete development of South Azadegan�s first phase, but the company was ousted after failing to implement the project in due time.

The ministry has already signed agreements with some giant international energy companies, including France�s Total, Deutch-British Shell, and Malaysia�s Petronas for developing the oil field.