China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Sinopec will be awarded to develop the second phase of the North Azadegan and the Yadavaran oil fields, Gholam-Reza Manouchehri, the deputy director of engineering and development affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said on Tuesday.
Both the Azadegan and Yadavaran projects are located in Iran's southwestern province of Khouzestan.
According to the NIOC statement, negotiations between the Iranian and Chinese officials on both projects had entered their final stage during last week's visit to Beijing by Iran’s Minister of Economy and Financial Affairs Ali Tayyebnia.
During the visit, Iran signed two memorandums of understanding with the Export-Import Bank of China and China Development Bank to provide loans for its key development projects, the statement read.
'A delegation from China will arrive in Tehran over the next few weeks to finalize negotiations over the remaining aspects of the projects, including the commercial, economic and technical points,' Manouchehri noted.
He said CNPC and Sinopec possess vast financial resources to carry out the development of the North Azadegan and Yadavaran projects, and he added that Iran’s decision to award the projects to the Chinese companies was in line with Tehran’s strategy to promote economic relations with Beijing.
CNPC is China's largest oil and gas producer and supplier, as well as one of the world's major oilfield service providers and a globally reputed contractor in engineering and construction.
Sinopec is a China's state-owned petroleum and petrochemical company with sole investments made by the state, functioning as a state-authorized investment organization in which the state holds the controlling share.
By Dilara Zengin
Anadolu Agency
dilara.zengin@aa.com.tr