National Iranian Oil Company - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The National Iranian Oil Company , a government-owned corporation

Government-owned corporation

A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...

under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran

Ministry of Petroleum of Iran

The Ministry of Petroleum manages the oil industry, the producer of oil and petrochemical products. MoP is in charge of all issues pertaining to exploration, extraction, exploitation, distribution and exportation of crude oil and oil products. In addition, according to the "", issuing import...

, is an oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

and natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

producer and distributor headquartered in Tehran

Tehran

Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...

. It was established in 1948. NIOC ranks as the world's second largest oil company, after Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

's state-owned Aramco.

The NIOC is exclusively responsible for the exploration, extraction, transportation and exportation of crude oil, as well as sales of natural gas and liquefied natural gas

Liquefied natural gas

Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport....

(LNG).
Having provided the domestic refineries and manufacturing plants with crude oil required for the petroleum products, the NIOC exports its surplus production according to commercial considerations in the framework of the quotas determined by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and at the prices prevalent in the international markets. The NIOC also signs some long term contracts on "buy-back" basis with foreign companies in order to exploit national oil fields and export its products. The NIOC exports natural gas and liquefied natural gas via the "National Iranian Gas Export Company" which is one of its subsidiaries.

NIOC's oil and gas reserves in early 2005 was as follows;

Recoverable liquid hydrocarbon reserves in early 2005, 136.99 Goilbbl 10% of world's total.
Recoverable gas reserves in early 2005 , 28.17 m³ (15% of world's total).

Current NIOC production capacities include over 4 Moilbbl of crude oil and in excess of 500 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. In 2008, the average extraction cost of oil was less than $5 per barrel. This does not include processing (refining) and distribution costs.

Iran’s cumulative oil production has reached to 61 Goilbbl by the end of 2007, most of these volume produced after 1951, under the supervision of NIOC.

Iran's overall export crude oil was valued at US$85 billion in 2010.

History

National Iranian Oil Company was established in 1948 under the reign of Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi and prime ministership of Saed. Then Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh was entrusted 1951 with the nationalisation of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Following the 1953 coup that overthrew Mossadegh it became a consortium of international oil companies: 40% owned by Anglo-Iranian holding, five American companies holding 40%, and the Royal Dutch/Shell and Compagnie Francaise de Petroles holding 10% each. The consortium shared profits 50-50 with Iran but did "not to open its books to Iranian auditors or to allow Iranians onto its board of directors." According to the company's Web site: The victory of the Islamic revolution

Iranian Revolution

The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...

annulled the Consortium Agreement of 1954 and all regulations pertaining to it. The taking of power by the Islamic Republic

Islamic republic

Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...

led to the withdrawal of foreign employees from Iran's oil industry; domestic employees took full control of its affairs.

NIOC's Oil Reserves

According to OPEC, NIOC recoverable liquid hydrocarbon reserves at the end of 2006 was 1384 Goilbbl.

NIOC oil reserves at the beginning of 2001 was reported to be about 99 Goilbbl, however in 2002 the result of NIOC’s study showed huge reserves upgrade adding about 317 Goilbbl of recoverable reserves to the Iranian oil reserves.

After 2003 Iran has made some significant discoveries which lead to addition of another 7.7 Goilbbl of oil to the recoverable reserves of Iran.

The vast majority of Iran's crude oil reserves are located in giant onshore fields in the south-western Khuzestan region near the Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i border. Overall, Iran has 40 producing fields – 27 onshore and 13 offshore. Iran's crude oil is generally medium in sulfur and in the 28°-35 °API

API gravity

The American Petroleum Institute gravity, or API gravity, is a measure of how heavy or light a petroleum liquid is compared to water. If its API gravity is greater than 10, it is lighter and floats on water; if less than 10, it is heavier and sinks...

range.

Table 1- The five biggest NIOC oil fields;

Rank	Field Name	Formation	Initial Oil in Place (Billion Barrels)	Initial Recoverable Reserves (Billion Barrels)	Production Thousand barrels per day
1	Ahwaz	Asmari & Bangestan	65.5	25.5	945
2	Marun	Asmari	46.7	21.9	520
3	Aghajari	Asmari & Bangestan	30.2	17.4	200
4	Gachsaran	Asmari & Bangestan	52.9	16.2	560
5	Karanj	Asmari & Bangestan	11.2	5,7	200

Largest Iranian Oil Fields
Field's Name	Thousand barrels per day	Thousand cubic meters per day
(onshore)
Ahwaz (Asmari Formation)	700	111,291.1
Gachsaran	560	89,032.9
Marun	520	82,673.4
Bangestan	245	38,951.9
AghaJari	200	31,797.5
Karanj-Parsi	200	31,797.5
Rag-e-Safid	180	28,617.7
BibiHakimeh	130	20,668.3
Darquin	100	15,898.7
Pazanan	70	11,129.1
(offshore)
Dorood Dorood (city) Dorud is a city in and capital of Dorud County, Lorestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 100,528, in 23,596 families. The name Dorud means "where two rivers meet", where "Do" means two, and "rud" means river....	130	20,668.3
Salman	130	20,668.3
Abuzar	125	19,873.4
Sirri A&E	95	15,103.8
Soroush/Nowruz	60	9,539.2

Strategic petroleum reserves

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

has begun plans to create a global strategic petroleum reserves

Global strategic petroleum reserves

Global strategic petroleum reserves refer to crude oil inventories held by the government of a particular country, as well as private industry, for the purpose of providing economic and national security during an energy crisis...

in 2006 with the construction of 15 crude oil storage tanks with a planned capacity of 10 Moilbbl. The storage capacity of oil products in the country is around 11.5 billion liters (2011), but it will reach 16.7 billion liters by the end of the Fifth Five Year Development Plan (2010-2015).

NIOC's Gas Reserves

NIOC holds about 1000 Tcuft of proven Natural gas reserves of which 36% are as associated gas and 64% is in non associated gas fields. It stands for world's second largest reserves after Russia.

NIOC’s ten biggest Non-Associated Gas Fields;

NIOC’s ten biggest Non-Associated Gas Fields.
Field's Name	Gas In Place Tcf	Recoverable Reserve Tcf
South Pars	500	322
North Pars North Pars North Pars Gas Field is one of the biggest independent gas fields of the world. This field which was discovered in 1967 is located some 120 kilometers south east of Bushehr province in water depths of 2 to 30 meters in the Persian Gulf....	60	47
Kish Kish Gas Field Kish gas Fied is a giant gas field close to Kish Island in the Persian Gulf.It is one of the NIOC Recent Discoveries which was discovered in 2006 and holds of gas in place of which is recoverable....	60	45
Golshan	55	25 - 45
Tabnak	NA	21,2
Kangan	NA	20,1
Khangiran	NA	16,8
Nar	NA	13
Aghar	NA	11,6
Farsi (B-Structure)	NA	11 - 22

Recent Discoveries

Since 1995, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has made significant oil and gas discoveries, standing for some 84 Goilbbl of oil in place and at least 175 Tcuft of gas in place, which are listed below.

NIOC Oil Discoveries Since 1995.
Field's Name	Oil In Place	Recoverable Oil	Discovery Year
	Billion Barrel	Billion Barrel
Azadegan Azadegan The Azadegan oil field is an oil field in Iran. The field is located west of Ahvaz close to the Iraqi border.-History:The oil field was discovered in 1999. The first exploration well was drilled in the field in 1976, but its discovery was finalized after drilling the second well in 1999...	33.2	5.2
Yadavaran (Kushk+Hosseinieh)	17	3
Ramin	7.398	1.11	2007
South Pars Oil Layer	6	NA
Band-E-Karkeh	4.5	NA	2007
Mansour Abad	4.45	NA	2007
Changoleh	2.7	NA
Azar	2.07	NA	2007
Paranj	1.6	NA	2007
Andimeshk (Balaroud)	1.1	0.233	2007
Binalood	0.776	0.099	2008
Mansouri-Khami layer	0.760	NA
Jofeyr-Fahliyan layer	0.750	NA	2008
Asaluyeh	0.525	NA	2008
Arvand	0.500	NA	2008
Tusan	0.470	NA	2006
Arash	0.168	NA
Total	83.967	NA

NIOC Natural Gas Discoveries Since 1995.
Field's Name	Gas in Place		Recoverable Gas Reserve
Field's Name	Trillion cubic feet	Billion cubic meters	Trillion cubic feet	Billion cubic meters
Kish	59	1,670.7	47	1,330.9
Tabnak	30	849.5	NA
Farsi (B-Structure)	NA		11-23	310-650
Ghir (Sefid Zakhur)	11.4	322.8	8.5	240.7
Yadavaran-Gas Layer	9.75	276.1	NA
Lavan	9.1	257.7	NA
Balal-Dahroum Formation	8.8	249.2	NA
Homa	7.6	215.2	NA
Marun Gas Layer	6.2	175.6	NA
Gardan	5.7	161.4	NA
Day	4.4	124.6	NA
Binak Gas Layer	3.5	99.1	NA
Karanj Gas Layer	2.9	82.1	NA
BiBi hakime Gas Layer	2.4	68	NA
Zireh	1	28.3	NA
Kuh-e-Asmari (Masjed Soleiman)	1	28.3	0.739	20.9
Arash	0.79	22.4	NA
Kheyr Abad	0.17	4.8	NA
Total	170	4,813.9	NA

Organizational structure

The company is completely owned by Iranian government. NIOC's General Assembly consists of:

The President
President of Iran
The President of Iran is the highest popularly elected official in, and the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran; although subordinate to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state...

,
Vice President
Vice President of Iran
Vice President of Iran is defined by article 124 of the Iranian constitution, as anyone appointed by the President to lead an organization related to Presidential affairs. , there are 12 Vice Presidents in Iran...

,
Director General of the Management and Planning Organization,
Ministers of Oil,
Energy
Ministry of Energy (Iran)
Ministry of Energy of Iran , is the main organ of the Government in charge of the regulation and implementation of policies applicable to energy, electricity, water and wasterewater services....

,
Industries and Mines,
Labor and Social Affairs
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Iran)
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Iran , was the main organ of Iranian Government in charge of the regulation and implementation of policies applicable to labour and social affairs.-History:...

,
Economy and Finance
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance (Iran)
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finances function are:*acting as the state treasury,*public finance,*economic and financial policy making,*implementing tax policies,*in charge of foreign direct investment,...

It is its highest decision marking body, determining the company's general policy guide lines, and approving the annual budgets, operations and financial statements and balance sheets. The company's Board of Directors has the authority and major responsibilities to approve the operational schemes within the general framework ratified by the General Assembly, approve transactions and contracts, and prepare budgets and Board reports and annual balance sheets for presentation to the General Assembly.

The Board supervises the implementation of general policy guidelines defined by the General Assembly, and pursues executive operations via the company's Managing Director.

Subsidiary Companies

With appropriate division of tasks and delegation of responsibilities to subsidiaries- affiliates, NIOC has been able to establish acceptable degrees of coordination within its
organizational set up. In fact, NIOC's Directors act primarily in policy making and supervision while subsidiaries act as their executive arm in coordinating an array of operations such as exploration

Exploration

Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...

, drilling

Drilling

Drilling is a cutting process that uses a drill bit to cut or enlarge a hole in solid materials. The drill bit is a multipoint, end cutting tool...

, production

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

and delivery of crude oil and natural gas

Natural gas

, for export

Export

The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...

and domestic consumption.

The NIOC's subsidiaries are as follows:

NIOC subsidiaries
Company Name	Activities
Iranian Offshore Oil Company Iranian Offshore Oil Company The Iranian Offshore Oil Company is a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company. IOOC, an independent legal entity, is based in Tehran and operates in southern Iran... (IOOC)	in charge of offshore oil fields in the Persian Gulf Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers... offshore oil and gas fields with the exception of South Pars. It focuses mainly on production platforms, ancillary facilities, and installations.
Central Iranian Oil Fields Company	supervises all upstream activities in the central oil and gas regions of the country, i.e. everything, excluding the oil-rich southern Khuzestan province, Caspian and offshore.
National Iranian Gas Export Co.	in charge of gas exports for the National Iranian Gas Company National Iranian Gas Company The National Iranian Gas Company was established in 1965 as one of the four principal companies affiliated to the Ministry of Petroleum of the Islamic Republic of Iran with 25,000 million Rials initial capital.... . See also: Persian pipeline Persian Pipeline Persian Pipeline is a proposed natural gas pipeline to transfer Iranian gas from the Persian gulf to European markets.-Route:... and Peace pipeline.
Iran LNG Company	a subsidiary of National Iranian Gas Export Co.
National Iranian South Oil Co.	in charge of onshore oilfields in southern Iran. Focuses on onshore upstream activity in the province of Khuzestan. As Khuzestan is the main oil and gas-producing province, this entity is among the most significant in the NIOC family.
National Iranian Central Oil Co	supervises all upstream activities in the central oil and gas regions of the country, i.e. everything, excluding the oil-rich southern Khuzestan province, Caspian and offshore.
Khazar Oil Exploration and Production Co.	in charge of Iran's Caspian Sea Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of... sector (onshore and offshore)
Petroleum Engineering and Development Co.(PEDEC)	is the most important NIOC offshoot company. The responsibility for all buy-back projects under operation, study or negotiation has been given to PEDEC. This company enjoys full authority to manage the projects. Further information: Foreign Direct Investment in Iran Foreign Direct Investment in Iran Foreign direct investment in Iran has been hindered by unfavorable or complex operating requirements and by international sanctions, although in the early 2000s the Iranian government liberalized investment regulations. Iran ranks 62nd in the World Economic Forum's 2011 analysis of the global...
Pars Oil and Gas Co. (POGC)	National Iranian Gas Company National Iranian Gas Company The National Iranian Gas Company was established in 1965 as one of the four principal companies affiliated to the Ministry of Petroleum of the Islamic Republic of Iran with 25,000 million Rials initial capital.... does not play a role in awarding upstream gas projects; that task remains in the hands of the National Iranian Oil Company. Pars Oil and Gas Co. is in charge of the offshore North and South Pars gas fields and responsible for awarding the contracts for the different phases. Since 2010, it has been raising capital on the domestic and international markets in order to finance its projects.
Pars Special Economic Energy Zone Co.	handles and organizes all activities in the Pars Special Economic-Energy Zone, located near the South Pars gas field (a subsidiary of Pars Oil & Gas Co.)
National Iranian Oil Terminals Co.	has four transport hubs including facilities on the three islands of Kharg, Lavan Lavan Island Lavan Island is an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf. It has an area of 76 km². The island has one of the four major terminals for export of crude oil in Iran. The largest one is in Kharg Island.-See also:KookherdBastak*Bandar Lengeh... and Sirri consisting of 17 jetties capable of berthing tankers of all sizes to lift and export its crude oil that load more than 2,000 oil tankers per year. 2,000 of them dock in Bandar Abbas Bandar Abbas Bandar-Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās , also Romanized as Bandar ‘Abbās, Bandar ‘Abbāsī, and Bandar-e ‘Abbās; formerly known as Cambarão and Port Comorão to Portuguese traders, as Gombroon to English traders and as Gamrun or Gumrun to Dutch merchants) is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on... Port, 1,000 in Khark Island. Iran earned nearly $2 billion in 2009 from bunkering ships in the Persian Gulf (25% market share). Projected bunkering sites by 2015: Bandar Abbas (two sites), Kish, Qeshm, Bushehr, Mahshahr, Assalouyeh, Khark and Chabahar. Fujairah Fujairah Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, and the only one on the Gulf of Oman in the country's east instead of Persian Gulf .-History:... bunkering hub, UAE is Iran's main competitor in the Perisan Gulf.
National Iranian Drilling Co. (NIDC)	in charge of all offshore and onshore drilling activities. Iran manufactures 60–70% of its industrial equipment Industry of Iran According to a report by the Economist, Iran has been ranked 39th for producing $23 billion of industrial products in 2008. From 2008 to 2009 Iran has leaped to 28th place from 69th place in annual industrial production growth rate. A recent report by the World Fact Book ranks Iran 3rd among... domestically, including refineries Oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas... , oil tankers Tanker - Transportation :* Tanker , a ship designed to carry bulk liquids Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker... , drilling rig Drilling rig A drilling rig is a machine which creates holes or shafts in the ground. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill water wells, oil wells, or natural gas extraction wells, or they can be small enough to be moved manually by one person... s, offshore platforms Oil platform An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing... and exploration instruments.
Ahwaz Pipe Mills Company	manufacturing oil and gas pipes and has a capacity of up to 420,000 tons per year. It operates three plants.
Iranian Fuel Conservation Organization	regimenting the fuel consumption in different sectors through review and survey of the current trend of consumption and executing conservation measures nationwide. See also: 2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran
National Iranian Tanker Company National Iranian Tanker Company National Iranian Tanker Company is a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company which was privatized in 2009. As at 2011, NITC was owned by funds managing pensions for 5 million Iranians. It is the biggest tanker company in the Middle East and 4th in the world...	controls the second largest fleet of tankers in OPEC OPEC OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings... .
Exploration Service Company (ESC)	responsible for providing operational services in all facets of exploration and production activities within NIOC onshore regions.
Kala Naft (London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... ) Ltd.	in charge of carrying out the procurement Procurement Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location... needs of the NIOC that cannot be met domestically. However, NIOC organizations can in theory also purchase directly from suppliers.
Kala Naft (Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... ) Ltd.	in charge of carrying out the procurement Procurement Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location... needs of the NIOC that cannot be met domestically
Naftiran Intertrade Co. (NICO) (Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... )	handles trading Trade Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and... & swaps operations on behalf of NIOC. Iran has swap arrangements with Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to... , Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states... , and Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe... , under which it ships crude from the Central Asia Central Asia Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north... n producers to its Caspian Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of... ports. In exchange Iran delivers the equivalent barrels of crude on behalf of the three Central Asian producers to their costumers in the Persian Gulf Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers... . In October 2010, Iran asked for the terms of the contract to be re-negotiated because it claims it has lost money because of it. NaftIran also buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. Naftiran is a key player in Iran's energy sector Energy in Iran Energy resources in Iran consist of the third largest oil reserves and the second largest natural gas reserves in the world. Iran is in a constant battle to use its energy resources more effectively in the face of subsidization and the need for technological advances in energy exploration and... .
Petropars	General contractor for the oil & gas industry (a subsidiary of Naftiran Intertrade Co.)
Iran Petro Development Co. (aka PetroIran or PEDCO)	General offshore contractor (a subsidiary of Naftiran Intertrade Co.). Petro Iran was initially formed to be the Iranian partner of foreign contractors with a 10% share in each buy-back contract.
Iranian Oil Company (UK)	in charge of Rhum gasfield Rhum gasfield The Rhum Gas Field is located north-east of Aberdeen in 109 metres of water. Gas production and export began on 20 December 2005.... (a subsidiary of Naftiran Intertrade Co.)
Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company is the first Iranian general contractor to the oil and gas industries. IOEC specializes in offshore engineering, procurement, construction, pipe coating, pipelaying, and installation of jackets, top sides, etc... (IOEC)	First Iranian general contractor General contractor A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:... to the oil and gas industries. Joint venture with IDRO
Arvandan Oil & Gas Company (AOGC)	responsible for the development of the Arvandan oil & gas fields. AOGC was established in 2004 working as the main operator in oil and gas production from Azadegan, Yadavaran, Darquain, Jufeyr, Moshtagh, Khorramshahr, Arvand, Susangerd, Band-e-Karkheh, Omid and other fields which are located in west of Karun River.
Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI)

NIOC's major domestic contractors

Although usually neglected and overlooked, Iran also has a number of very active private companies in the oil sector. The growing private sector

Private sector

In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...

activity is mainly active in projects involving the construction of oil field units, refinery equipment, tanks and pipelines, as well as engineering.

NIOC produces 60-70% of its industrial equipment domestically including refineries, oil tankers, oil rig

Oil platform

An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...

s, offshore platforms and exploration instruments.

Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) and affiliated companies
Khatam Al-Anbia Construction Co.
Khatam al-Anbia
Khatam al-Anbia is an Iranian engineering firm controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps . The firm, also known as GHORB, is the IRGC's major engineering arm and one of Iran's largest contractors in industrial and development projects...

See also: other IRGC companies:
- SADRA
  SADRA
  SADRA also known as "Iran Marine Industrial Company" was founded in 1968 as a small ship repair yard in Bushehr. Since then, SADRA has established itself as the leading shipbuilding and shiprepairing company in Iran. SADRA is also active in offshore oil & gas development. SADRA specializes in...
MAPNA
MAPNA
MAPNA Group is a group of Iranian companies involved in construction and installation of energy production machinery, including boilers, gas and steam turbines, electrical generators, as well as industrial scale petroleum processing installations, railway locomotives and wind power...
Sadid Industrial Group
Sadid Industrial Group
Sadid Industrial Group was established in 1963 in Iran. It is an industrial conglomerate in the fields of designing, engineering and fabrication of machines/equipment, production of spiral and longitudinal welded steel pipes, general contracting of oil, gas and petrochemical projects, water and...
Pasargad Oil Co.
Behran Oil Co.
Behran Oil Company
-History and development:Behran Oil Company was founded in 1963 as a private joint venture with Exxon Company in Iran. The first products of the company were just packing and blending engine oils. The company became independent after the Islamic Revolution...
Petrochemical Industries Design and Engineering Company (PIDEC)
Zagros Petrochemical Company
Bakhtar Petrochemical Company
Rehabilitation and Maintenance of Petrochemical Company (RAMPCO)
Petrochemical Industries Erection & Construction Company (ECC)
North Drilling Co.
North Drilling
North Drilling Company is an Iranian company specialized in the contracting, design, construction, management and leasing of oil and gas platforms in the Caspian Sea, to global customers. The company was privatized in June 2009...
Karoun Drilling & Field Services
Tehran Berkeley
Kalayeh Naft Company
Shaid Shah Abadani Industries Company (SANAM)
Nargan Consulting Engineers
Afaq Ghadeer Engineering Company
Oil Industries Engineering & Construction (OIEC)
- Oil Industries Development
Oriental Kish
Radira Engineering & Construction Co.
Chegalesh Consulting Engineers Co.
Namvaran co.
Sazeh Consultants
Payandan
Qeshm Energy
Global Petro Tech Kish
GPTKish
Stratus International Contracting Company
Energy Industries Engineering and Design Co.(EIDE)
Mehvar Sazan Co.
Oil Design and Construction Co. (ODCC)
National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Co. (NIOEC)
Petro Pidar
Petro Sina Arian

Participations in foreign gas fields

Iran owns 50% of the offshore gas field of Rhum
Rhum gasfield
The Rhum Gas Field is located north-east of Aberdeen in 109 metres of water. Gas production and export began on 20 December 2005....

in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

, which is Britain's largest untapped gas field. It is a joint-venture with BP worth $1 million a day at June 15, 2010 spot prices.

Iran has another 10% joint-venture participation with BP and other foreign oil companies in Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas field
Shah Deniz gas field
Shah Deniz gas field is the largest natural gas field in Azerbaijan. It is situated in the South Caspian Sea, off the coast of Azerbaijan, approximately southeast of Baku, at a depth of . The field covers approximately . The Shah Deniz gas and condensate field was discovered in 1999...

, producing 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year, worth up to a reported $2.4 billion per year. The Iranian entity with which BP has partnered in these ventures is the Swiss-based NaftIran, a subsidiary of NIOC.

External links

NIOC - Official Site
SHANA - Official News Service for Oil and Gas in Iran
US Department of Energy - Iran
PEDEC - Official Site
Oil & Gas Industry in Iran - 2003 Study (history, market overview, domestic suppliers, major projects, buy-backs)
Australian Trade - Industry Profile for the Oil Sector in Iran
Iran Oil & Gas Resources
National Iranian Oil Company's Information Center & Central Library
UN Comtrade - Iran crude oil exports stats
NIOC Football Team - Tehran Oil Football Committee

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.