Fereydoun Kord-Zanganeh, who made the announcement in a meeting between NIOC and insurance companies, added a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed and Dasht Azadegan Arvand Company was set up with a $7 billion investment made by two Iranian exploration and production (E&P) companies and eight banks to implement the project.

Foreign investment in Iran’s projects has been limited due to sanctions in recent years, said the official, adding NIOC has made every effort to carry out projects through utilizing domestic capacities.

A country’s economic development demands appropriate management of projects, he underlined.

“In line with the 13th (incumbent) administration’s policies on using the country’s God-given resources for balanced development, NIOC held its first session with the country’s monetary and banking experts in February 2022,” recalled Kord-Zanganeh.

Considering successful cooperation between the National Iranian Oil Company and the country’s financial system, NIOC has decided to utilize domestic insurance industry’s capabilities for funding and implementing upstream projects, he concluded.

The Azadegan oil field is about 80km west of the city of Ahvaz, southwestern province of Khuzestan, and along the Iran-Iraq border, covering a total area of 1,500 square kilometers. It is known to be Iran’s largest joint oil field with about 32 billion barrels of oil in place.