National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) on 16 March awarded more than $13bn of contracts to local firms to boost capacity at six oilfields on the border with Iraq by up to 400,000 b/d.

The largest set of awards went to Dasht Azadegan Arvand, which received $11.5bn of contracts for the “integrated” 20-year development of the Azadegan field. The 34bn barrel field holds half of the Iraq-bordering West Karun cluster’s resource base, with current capacity at around 270,000 b/d. Oil Minister Javad Owji recently claimed the cluster’s output stood at 450,000 b/d (MEES, 15 March). (CONTINUED - 400 WORDS)