Iran need $200 billion investment to develop its oil industry, said Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, adding that since internal resources are not enough to meet such need, the country should attract foreign investment.

The recently-introduced IPC (the Integrated Petroleum Contract) has been drawn up to materialize this objective, the minister noted, according to a report in Tehran Times.

The new contracts, which include those in the upstream exploration and development sectors, are expected to attract more than $40 billion in foreign investment.

Of the $200 billion investment targeted for oil industry, $130 billion is needed in the upstream sector and $70 billion in the downstream sector, including petrochemical industries, Zanganeh said.

‘South Pars operations by summer 2017’

All phases of the South Pars gas field, except for half of the phase 14, are planned to be inaugurated in the summer of 2017, he added.

Zanganeh said Iran needs $30 billion to put all phases of the gas field into operation, adding that by putting all phases of the field into operation, the country’s gas output will reach nearly 700 million cu m per day.

Zanganeh also stated that oil production from the West Karoun oilfields are planned to reach 300,000 bpd by the end of the term of the current government.