The Iranian Oil Ministry has signed four contracts worth a total of $2 billion with domestic contractors. The agreements, signed Sunday at the ministry's building in Tehran, include major projects aimed at developing two key oil fields.

The contracts are expected to generate $17 billion in revenues for the country, marking a substantial boost to Iran's economy.

The first of these agreements, signed with the Oil Industries Engineering and Construction (OIEC), focuses on the development of the Changouleh oil field. Located in the western province of Ilam, just 5 kilometers north of the Iraq border, the field boasts approximately 4,800 million barrels of in-place crude oil.

Over a 20-year period, the project aims to produce 228,000 barrels of crude oil from Changouleh.

Another significant contract was signed with Mapna Oil and Gas Development Company to develop the Band-Karkheh oil field in the southwestern Khuzestan province. This field is estimated to contain nearly 980 million barrels of in-place crude oil. The 15-year contract targets a total production of 56.6 million barrels of oil from Band-Karkheh.

Mapna Oil and Gas Development Company also secured a separate contract to provide crude production services for the Qalenar, Kaboud, and Balaroud oil fields. These fields collectively have a total capacity of 40,000 barrels per day and the contract spans ten years.

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Additionally, Maham Sharq Industrial Group was contracted to construct a crude oil production unit at the Mansouri oil field. This unit is designed to have a capacity of 75,000 barrels per day over a ten-year period.

The Iranian Oil Ministry emphasized that these new contracts will significantly boost the country's annual oil production, thereby increasing national revenues.

Iran has been focusing on developing its oil industry through domestic resources and capabilities, adhering to the principles of the Resistance Economy amid stifling Western sanctions that prohibit Iran from having ties with numerous countries, which limits the presence of foreign firms.

Sky-high exports

Even though the US sanctioned Iran again in 2018, Chinese-Iranian trade, specifically Chinese purchases of Iranian oil has aided Iran in keeping a positive trade balance, and in the 12 months up until the end of March 2024, Iran's oil exports reached $35.8 billion. 

Rezvanifar said that without oil exports, Iran would have registered a $16.8 billion trade deficit.
 
Iran's total trade witnessed a 2.6% year-on-year increase, hitting a value of $153 billion, of which $86.8 billion was Iranian exports, he added.

Trade exchanges between Iran and China witnessed a 37 percent increase in the first two months of 2024 compared to a similar period from last year.

IRNA cited Chinese customs data revealing that the value of trade between both countries in January and February this year amounted to $2.879 billion. Last year, the trade value in the same months amounted to $2.098 billion.