Iran is to embark on a US$200 billion oil, gas and refining investment plan over five years to avoid a decline in production, the country’s oil minister has said.
“For the next five years, we are now…planning seriously for investment of upstream and downstream [of] $200 billion investment,” Masoud Mirkazemi told reporters ahead of the OPEC meeting last week.
The minister also revealed that sanctions will not affect the plans, which will “introduce a degree, a percentage of efficiency” as oil and gas fields in the country move towards depletion.
“Therefore a step should be taken so that investment will be also absorbed by this process of…increasing production,” Mr. Mirkazemi said. “It’s about 31 years since Iran got independence and some countries do not like it,” he said in reference to western sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic. “These kind of sanctions will not have any effect on it [investment].”
