A senior official from the Iranian Central Oil Fields Company’s (ICOFC) recently announced a fresh round of negotiations with Iraqi officials to reach an agreement on oil and gas fields that are on its border with Iraq and said cooperation between the two sides on the joint fields will expand based on national interests.
ICOFC managing director, Mehdi Fakoor said: “One of the greatest achievements of the three-year talks between Iran and Iraq is the eagerness of the Iraqi oil company, Maysan, one the biggest Iraqi oil producers and ICOFC’s longtime negotiator, to expand cooperation with Iranian oil companies”.
Fakoor said in order to finalise a potential contract, the two sides first need to reach an agreement on general terms including development, investment, exploitation and production from joint fields and then work on specifications followed by finalizing and signing the contract.
Elsewhere in his remark he underscored that according to the policies adopted by National Iranian Oil Company’s implementation of upstream projects aimed at expediting production enhancement as well as joint fields’ development is underway.
“Priority to develop border fields and allot some sources in this regard is atop the agenda of NIOC subsidiaries including ICOFC announced by Masoud Mir Kazemi Minister of Petroleum”, Fakoor said.
Oil and gas fields shared by the two hydrocarbon-rich neighbours have been a source of contention in recent months. Last December Iranian soldiers had briefly occupied part of the Fakka oil field in Maysan province in southeastern Iraq on the border with Iran.
At least four other oil fields in Iraq are known to be within several hundred yards of the Iranian border or straddle it.
