Belorusneft, the former Soviet republic’s state-owned oil and gas exploration and production company, will drill wells and bring to production two oil fields in the Jofeireh region, some 80 kilometers south-west of the Iranian city Ahvaz. Gholam-Hossein Nozari from Iran’s Oil Ministry was Tehran’s representative at the signing ceremony. Financing for the project will come from the Vietnamese energy company Petrovietnam, with personnel and equipment supplied by Belorusneft and Iran’s Oil Ministry, said Aleksander Liakhov, Belorusneft chief executive. Once complete the development program will add 40,000 barrels daily to Iranian oil production, Liakhov predicted. At present two exploration wells have been drilled in the Jofeireh district and seismologists were researching the best location for further wells, he said. The drilling rigs and most other equipment are of Belarusian manufacture, he said.
Both Iran and Belarus are economically isolated from many developed economies, Tehran because of its nuclear power program, and Minsk because of the authoritarian government of Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko. Lukashenko during 2007 has lobbied intensively to develop new sources of energy for the former Soviet republic, in response to Russia’s decision to double the price of oil and natural gas sold to Belarus. The Iranian city Ahvaz lies in the oil-rich Khuzestan province, and was the site of heavy fighting during the Iran-Iraq war during the 1980s. Iran has experienced difficulty attracting foreign investment to the region. (m&c.com)
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
