Press TV - Head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) says more than $700 million has been raised to finance oil projects through the local stock market.

Massoud Karbassian said on Tuesday that using the bourse for financing oil projects had proven to be a successful mechanism at the time of American sanctions on Iran.
“We have attracted 80 trillion rials through the capital market for oil projects over the past eight months,” Karbassian told the ILNA agency.
The comments come amid reports suggesting that Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) has been experiencing a historic boom in trade over the past months. The main index of the market known as TEDPIX has already exceeded 300,000 points as major companies, including those active in oil and gas industry, are reportedly benefiting from a flow of capital from currency and gold markets.



Karbassian said investment in oil projects would be a safe option for Iranian households who normally seek to protect their savings from price fluctuations in the market.

He said the NIOC is mulling to diversify methods for raising finance for oil projects through the local bourse, adding that various forms of bonds will be issued in the near future to provide people with better investment options.

He said the company would also try to time the release of bonds with progress in oil projects so that it could create more attraction for the investors.

Financing methods for mega projects in Iran’s oil and gas industry has seen significant changes over the past year, especially since the United States imposed its unilateral sanctions on the country to impede its access to foreign currency sources.

Iran has insisted the sanctions have failed to hamper those projects, saying significant progress has been made over the past months especially in development of the South Pars, the world’s largest gas field located in the Persian Gulf.