NIGERIA and Iran plan to establish a multi-billion dollar joint venture oil company in line with earlier agreements for the design, construction and installation of offshore platforms to service industry needs, according to Mr. Masud Soltanpur, Managing Director of the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC). He spoke in Tehran.
It was gathered that the IOEC plan to set up an oil company with the co-operation of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the design, construction and installation of offshore platforms followed months of discussions and negotiations.
Both nations are members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which has always sought to encourage cooperation among its membership.
Dr. Edmund Daukoru, Minister of State for Petroleum and immediate past President of OPEC confirming the development said the whole idea was to expand the operating environment for companies in the design, construction and installation sub-sector. �We seek to expand the operating environment. You know it is very narrow and we just cannot leave it like that,� he said.
Although the minister did not go into details of how much the joint venture was worth, an official of the NNPC who did not want his name in print said it was a multi-billion dollar project.
Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, General Manager in charge of the corporation�s Group Public Affairs Department also confirmed the planned joint venture, noting that the NNPC was looking forward to its take-off with great anticipation. He said it was an indication of the international status the on-going reform agenda of the corporation has assumed, adding that NNPC looked forward to making it a success.
Soltanpur said IOEC was also working as a sub-contractor with Malaysian Petronas and Norwegian Shell on a Turkmen project. �In addition, the company will start its project to install a 4,000-ton hoist rig in Malaysia starting February,� he said.
He put the total value of the IOEC�s contracts at $3.5 billion, of which $1 billion are in foreign contracts.
In 2006, the Federal Government succeeded in attracting over $10 billion commitment in foreign direct investment to the Nigerian oil and gas sector. In March, 2006, a South Korean consortium led by KNOC spent $90 million on a 60 per cent stake in two Nigerian oil blocks � OPL 321 and 323. In return, South Korea is to build two gas-fired power plants and a network of gas pipelines in Nigeria.
�The Korea-Nigeria package deal is a good case to follow. Korea will be able to help countries, which are rich in resources but poor in infrastructure, have a well-established infrastructure in return for stakes in oil blocks,� Kim Seong-Hoon, executive vice president of KNOC�s New Ventures & Exploration, he said.