In an interview with “Iran Petroleum”, Vahid Reza Zeidifar, deputy minister of petroleum for engineering, research and technology, speaks about knowledge-based measures taken by his Office within the Iranian petroleum industry.

What measures have so far been taken to make the petroleum industry knowledge-based?

Pursuant to the “Knowledge-Based Production and Job Creation” motto chosen for the current calendar year and the government’s policy in line with development of capacities, creating synergy and materialization of knowledge-based economy, the Petroleum Ministry has developed a bylaw to that effect. Prior to that, only one evaluation manual for manufacturers with any kind of background and characteristics of companies was used by evaluators and experts for evaluation and registration in the Petroleum Ministry’s approved vendor list (AVL). However, given the nature of knowledge-based companies, especially with criteria such as being nascent and lack of sufficient experience and consequently not providing a certificate of good work performance and other 16 points of evaluation, they were practically unable to get the minimum score required to appear in the AVL. Our experts have reviewed their experience of evaluating manufacturers and identified obstacles to the knowledge-based companies’ entry into the AVL. Following consultation with experts from the Office of Vice President for Science and Technology, they adopted instructions for knowledge-based manufacturers. The instructions were then posted online so that the qualified companies would apply for joining the AVL. The feedback we have received, indicates that a growing number of companies have been joining.

What is the approach of the Petroleum Ministry towards supporting knowledge-based companies for engagement in the petroleum industry?

The Petroleum Ministry is tasked with paying low-interest facilities from the Iranian Oil Industry Ventures (IOIV) or banks and credit institutions to support investment by knowledge-based companies which are helping reduce the cost of manufacturing equipment and necessary materials while improving productivity. Such support pertains to strategic areas such as energy efficiency, digital transformation in the petroleum industry, enhance oil recovery through reclaiming idle and low-efficient wells, flaring and associated petroleum gas capturing, first-time manufacturing of strategic products from the petroleum industry, completing the value chain of the downstream oil, gas and petrochemical sector, industrial production projects, replacing fossil fuels with renewables, obtaining required standards, access to major commercial databases, purchasing software, licenses and patents and intellectual property rights in the petroleum sector.

How many companies, science parks and academic centers are you currently linked with?

Our Office is directly linked with any oil and gas innovation and technology park and with most science parks across the country. The operational and geographical extent of the Petroleum Ministry has been a good factor for accepting research work in humanities, basic sciences as well as technical and engineering fields. Therefore, all universities and research centers of the country may serve this industry and cooperate with the oil industry to provide technological and innovative solutions for various challenges with a level of complexity. Also, most of the Iranian universities have or are in the process of signing contracts with the main and subsidiary companies of the Petroleum Ministry. By defining large projects, the Ministry has planned in such a way that other universities will also cooperate with the contracted university in conducting research services. Currently, 35 contracts have been concluded with the country's universities and research centers, which include 22 upstream contracts, 8 downstream contracts, and 5 exploration contracts. Some examples are: Development of technical knowledge of methanol production process and catalysts - Methanol Institute with Shiraz University, development of technical knowledge of olefin production process - Olefin Institute with Tarbiat Modarres University, development of technical knowledge of propylene production process and its derivatives - Propylene Institute with Iran Chemical and Chemical Engineering Research Institute, development of technical knowledge of metallocene and zeiglernata catalysts production - Polyolefin Institute with Amir Kabir University of Technology, development of technical knowledge of mini-LNG process and its equipment - LNG Natural Gas Institute with University of Tehran, development of technical knowledge of sweetening processes and manufacturing of catalysts - Natural Gas Refining and Sweetening Institute with Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, development of technical knowledge for manufacturing turbine and compressor equipment - Institute of Gas Turbines, Iran University of Science and Technology, and OTC Company, and development of technical knowledge related to smart flow measurement - Institute of Smart Measurement of Iran University of Science and Technology.

How does your Office interact with science parks and universities at home or overseas?

Regarding the cooperation with science and technology parks, the Petroleum Ministry is obliged to plan in such a way that the growth of the market and the engagement of knowledge-based companies in the petroleum industry should increase every year in such a way that the use of goods and services of these companies will increase by 40% compared to the preceding year. Also, in order to speed up and facilitate the issuance of licenses for the activities of knowledge-based companies (related to the oil industry) in Petropark or other science and technology parks in the country, the issuance of aforesaid licenses is assigned to the management of Petropark. That management is obliged to compile and communicate the necessary executive mechanism with the cooperation of the Office of Vice President for Science and Technology and the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology within 3 months.

In this regard, memorandums of understanding have been signed with related centers or their drafts are being prepared, which include the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Petroleum Ministry and the Office of Vice President for Science and Technology, the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Petroleum Ministry and Union of Employers of Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Knowledge-Base Companies, signing a memorandum of understanding between the Petroleum Ministry and Tehran Municipality, signing a memorandum of understanding with Petroleum University of Technology for training and culture-building in the areas of asset management and corrosion in the industry, preparing a draft memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Petroleum and the Iran Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, the drafting of the joint cooperation memorandum between the Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Agriculture and the preparation of the draft of the joint cooperation memorandum between the Petroleum Ministry and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. Regarding cooperation with domestic and foreign universities, it should be noted that domestic universities and research centers play a role in conducting applied research as innovation players based on the technological demands of the petroleum industry (needs and challenges) and based on the processes of the research, technology and commercialization system. The mode of interaction with academic and research centers is mainly formed in the form of signed memorandums of understanding, which includes the conclusion of large-scale research contracts in the upstream and downstream sectors and the establishment of joint oil research institutes in universities, such as the expected output of the conclusion of the memorandum of cooperation between the Petroleum Ministry and the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. Also, within the framework of the research, technology and commercialization system of the Petroleum Ministry and benefiting from research opportunities, university researchers may benefit from the opportunity to learn more about the oil industry and the technological challenges of this industry in the ecosystem. Foreign universities have cooperated as collaborators and consultants along with the domestic universities of the contracting parties, especially in the large projects of the Petroleum Ministry.

Courtesy of Iran Petroleum