Iran sees total of $27.3 bn investment in oil industry in 2 years

A total of $ 27.3 bn was invested in the Iranian state oil industry in the two years to March 20, Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said. Iran's new fiscal year began March 21.
Despite foreign pressure to restrict the flow of investment and technology to the Iranian oil industry, investment rose by $ 1.3 bn to $ 14.3 bn, in the second half of the two-year period, Vaziri told on his return from a Gas Exporting Countries Forum meeting in Qatar.

Vaziri didn't give a breakdown on what proportion of the investment came from foreign sources. He said the rise in the volume of investment in the oil industry was made against a backdrop of a rise in the country's oil production capacity to 4.3 mm bpd.
He also put the revenue from the export of oil in the year to March 20 at $ 60 bn which met the ministry's forecasts. Of the $ 60 bn in revenue from the oil sector, some $ 9 bn came from the export of petrochemical products and derivatives.
"A new petrochemical unit will be commissioned every month until the end of the year," he said.

Vaziri said the rise in the oil production capacity was achieved despite an ongoing drop in the country's annual oil-well yield of around 250,000 barrels due to the age of the wells and falls in oil pressure. Vaziri rejected as unfounded reports he may be replaced as oil minister.
"I participated in the gathering of the gas exporting countries representing the Islamic Republic of Iran, and such rumours have been going around ever since I received the vote of confidence from (parliament)."