Iran Expects India to Submit Farzad B Development Plan by September

Iran has given India’s ONGC Videsh time till September to submit a financial proposal for the development of Farzad B gas field located in Persian Gulf.

Ali Akbar Shabanpour managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company said final decision about the development of the field has yet to be made, Islamic Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported. He said there is no major disagreement with India over Farzad-B that was discovered by ONGC Videsh in 2008. The block was discovered by a consortium of state owned companies, ONGC Videsh (OVL), Oil India and Indian Oil Corp six years ago. The consortium did not move forward with the project after sanctions were imposed on Iran. With most sanctions now gone, New Delhi is looking to increase engagement with Iran for the development of Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf. India has expressed delight at Iran’s decision to keep Farzad - B field outside the auction basket.

“But with the fall in oil prices, the Indian companies should again study the viability of the project and offer a new financial plan, which will ultimately be approved by the oil ministry,” ISNA quoted Shabanpour as saying.

However, both Indian and Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that final deal would be signed before the end of 2016.

"We hope decisions regarding the project's development will be made before 2017," Shana news agency quoted Iranian oil minister Bijan Zangeneh as saying earlier this year.

Zangeneh made these comments during Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s visit to Iran in April.