Iran, Russia, Turkey firms sign $7-bln deal

Iran’s Ghadir Investment, Russia’s Zarubezhneft and Turkey’s Unit International have signed a deal worth USD 7 billion to collaborate on drilling in Iran.

A statement on the deal released by Unit on Tuesday followed reports last week that the three companies had signed a co-operation agreement on financing oil and gas projects.

Unit said the three companies would jointly invest USD 7 billion in drilling at three oilfields and one gasfield. The company said the unnamed oilfields hold a total of 10 billion barrels of reserves and are expected to together produce 100,000 bopd. The gasfield has an anticipated output of 75 bcm (2.65 tcf) per year.

The deal can be extended to drilling in other parts of Iran, the Turkish company said.

Unit has been investing in power generation projects in Iran since the 1980s. The company made headlines in June 2016 when it signed a USD 4.2-billion deal to build seven gas-powered plants in Iran.

Zarubezhneft signed on to undertake studies of Iran’s West Paydar and Aban oilfields in July 2016. The company has also expressed interest in making a multibillion-dollar investment in the Changouleh oilfield.

Ghadir Investment Company participates in various industries via its seven holdings and 140 subsidiaries, which undertake financing, as well as operating in areas such as oil, gas, petrochemicals, construction, mining, transportation, power and information technology.