Mohammadreza Moghadam, the deputy Iranian oil minister for research and technology affairs, released the list of eight permitted local partners to take western energy companies into partnership for the implementation of joint exploration and production (E&P) projects in Iran, IRIB news reported on Sunday.
The companies, selected from among the pool of 37 ones, include Petropars Company, Mapna Group, Iran Energy Market Oil Industries' Engineering and Construction (OIEC), Dana Energy Company, Petroiran Development Company, Khatam-al Anbiya Construction Headquarters (KAA), Industrial Projects Management of Iran (IPMI)- an affiliate of Iran Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO)- and Persia Oil and gas Development Company.
The names of the companies has been eagerly awaited by western energy companies such as BP, Total and Eni, as they hope to gain access to the OPEC member’s oil and gas reserves after years of sanctions.
As Reuters reported on June 23, on the way to taking Iran a step closer to opening up its oil and gas fields to western investment, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) announced the name of Iranian companies initially chosen as foreigners’ energy partners. At the time, the put forward list included government-backed Petroiran, Petropars and Mapna Group.