Iran Oil Co Picks Sudan As 1st Foreign Oil Venture-Report

TEHRAN, Oct. 23, 2003 (Dow Jones) — The National Iranian Oil Co. (NIO.YY) has chosen Sudan as a platform to launch international upstream oil activities, a senior Iranian oil official said Thursday.

“The NIOC will begin its commercial activity on an international level in Sudan,” Mostafa Khoie, managing director of the state-owned Petro-Iran Development Co., said in remarks carried by the oil ministry’s information network Thursday.

Khoei added that the Nikoo company, an NIOC-affiliate, would act as NIOC’s investment arm in Sudan. Nikoo owns Petro-Iran and Petro-Pars companies, which may be merged.

Khoie said NIOC is considering investing in the development of five onshore and offshore blocks, which the Sudanese government has scheduled for international tendering before the end of the year.

The Sudanese government, which like Iran, is sanctioned by the U.S., is proposing a production-sharing model to develop these oil fields.

Also competing with Iran for a share in those developments are companies from Malaysia, India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, he said.

Khoie said Iranian oil ministry delegations who have traveled to Sudan, also discussed Iran participating in the African state’s downstream and petrochemical sectors.

“The necessary agreements for the outset of activities by the Iranian petrochemical sector in Sudan have been obtained,” he said.

Akbar Torkan, deputy oil minister in charge of planning, has said NIOC’s plans for international investments are part of the company’s structural changes being carried out by the oil ministry.

This restructuring would make the government owner of the oil reserves, with NIOC paying to develop the reserves, like any private-sector company.