Azadegan oilfield is located 80 km southwest of Ahvaz, and comprises of Saruk, Fahlian, Gadvand and Kajdomi reserves.

AHVAZ, Khuzestan, Aug. 14--Based on recent studies, in situ gas reserves in Azadegan oilfield has increased by 2.8 billion barrels to 35.9 billion barrels.
Announcing this, an official in charge of Azadegan oilfield development project, Naji Sadouni told IRNA on Saturday that nine billion barrels of in situ oil reserves of the field is recoverable, earning the country $360 billion.
Sadouni said the field contains both light and heavy crude and presently 25 percent of the oil in the area is recoverable and this figure can rise by up to 30 percent through updating technology.
Azadegan oilfield is located 80 km southwest of Ahvaz, and comprises of Saruk, Fahlian, Gadvand and Kajdomi reserves.
The project to develop the field will include two phases: the first phase will make it possible to recover 150,000 barrels of oil in 52 months while the second will be devoted to boosting the output to 260,000 barrels.
Meanwhile, nine new gas reserves of National South Oil Company have the capacity to yield 875 million cubic feet of light gas and 137,000 barrels of gas liquids a day.
According to the company’s Managing Director Nosratollah Espiari said the reserves include Marun Khami, Karun Bangestan, Bibi-Hakimeh Khami, Khalij Aghajari, Rag-Sefid Khami, Pazanan Khami, Karanj Khami, Qale Nar Bangestan and Milaton.
He said that in light of the feasibility studies and projects the reserves have the capacity to produce as much as 2.83 billion barrels of gas and oil.

TEHRAN, Aug. 14--Iran has since April reduced fuel swap with regional states apparently due to high costs involved in the business, said a senior Transportation and Terminals Organization official here on Sunday.
Mohammad Javad Atrchian, the organization’s director general for transit affairs, told ILNA that the Central Asian countries have also tried to meet their fuel demand from regional countries other than Iran.
“We have asked the Oil Ministry to announce the reasons for the declining oil swap but have not yet received an answer,“ he said, adding that Iran apparently demands higher transit fees than other regional countries.
He said stability and rehabilitation of refineries in war-ravaged Iraq would lead to a further decline in the regional demand for oil swap from Iran.
Last month, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that a pipeline will be constructed to swap oil with Iraq, stressing that the project would be implemented once bilateral talks produce concrete results.
The minister said Iran has expressed its willingness to implement the project.
“However it seems that further negotiations will be needed to this effect,“ he said, adding that Iraq should become more stable.
He said once the project becomes operational, Iran will receive up to 380,000 barrels per day of oil from Iraq and deliver the same amount via the southern island of Khark.

TEHRAN, Aug. 14--A Commerce Ministry official said here Saturday that over 90 percent of the subsidies in the Third Five-Year Development Plan (March 2000-2005) were allocated for essential and consumer goods.
Deputy Commerce Minister Hassan Younes Sinaki told IRNA that subsidies in the year to March 2005 which was the final year of the Third Development Plan totaled 25,000 billion rials.
He added that the primary goals of the subsidy system were to stabilize the markets by supporting national production, maintain the level of consumption, ensure that the poor strata have the required calories in their diet as well as support and promote investments.
Following the government’s anti-inflationary policies, subsidies on all consumption, production and export-related items followed a growing trend, he added.
The official further said that the aim of a government-sponsored bill submitted to the Majlis was to improve the subsidy allocation system.
Sinaki said, “Prices of essential goods will remain unchanged once we succeed in making up for the budget deficit and securing funds for subsidies.“
He said that any plan to prevent hikes in prices of the essential goods should fall within the frameworks of the law and state policies.
He said that based on the approvals of the last meeting of the High Council for Social Security and Welfare, chaired by then-president Mohammad Khatami in May, any approach to payment of subsidies on the essential goods this year will be the same as that of last year.
The official said there is an 11-trillion-rial shortfall in this year’s subsidy budget and the government plans to submit an urgent bill to the Majlis to make necessary funds available for offsetting this deficit.

TEHRAN, Aug. 14--Assalouyeh Airport will be officially inaugurated in the near future, said the managing director of Pars Special Economic and Energy Zone here on Sunday.
Mehdi Karbassian told Fars news agency that work on the construction of the airport’s terminal has now been completed and the airport is ready to become operational.
The official further said that piers I, II and III of the special economic and energy zone are now ready to accommodate 60,000-ton vessels.
“It is expected that piers VII and VIII will also become operational by November,“ he said, adding that the zone’s water treatment project has also gone on stream with the capacity of 5,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day.
The hydrocarbon-rich southern area of Assalouyeh has absorbed some $20 billion in foreign investments since 1997, when President Mohammad Khatami took office, giving the energy industry a new lease of life. Experts say Assalouyeh will play a crucial role in the future of Iran’s economy.
The $20-billion investment is expected to increase five-fold in the next 10 years. Eight phases of the 28-phased project to develop South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, which is believed to be the world’s largest offshore gas field, would create 60,000 jobs.
The implementation of the multi-phased project to develop the giant South Pars gas field, which holds nearly eight percent of the global gas reserves, is a top priority on the national development agenda.
The field straddles Iranian (South Pars) and Qatari (North Field) sectors of the Persian Gulf, and Iran’s share is being developed in 28 phases.
Iran is also planning to begin exploration projects in the Caspian Sea. Iran holds the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia.

Processed pistachio production is expected to reach 120,000 tons by March 2006.

TEHRAN, Aug. 14--An Agriculture Jihad Ministry official said here on Sunday that export of unprocessed pistachios is not a profitable business under the circumstances.
Behrouz Gheibi, the ministry’s director general for pistachio affairs, told ILNA that only 1,500 tons of unprocessed pistachios are consumed domestically, adding that export of unprocessed pistachios would need certain transportation facilities, which are not available in Iran.
“Unprocessed pistachios have to be transported in refrigerated containers and in special packages which do not exist in Iran,“ he said, adding that if necessary facilities are provided, some 2,000-3,000 tons of unprocessed pistachios could be exported to Persian Gulf littoral states each year.
He further noted that Iran exported 25,300 tons of pistachios to the Persian Gulf littoral states during March-July this year.
He said that the annual unprocessed pistachio production in the northeastern city of Damghan and the central city of Saveh stands at some 150,000 tons.
The official said processed pistachio production is expected to reach 120,000 tons by March 2006.
Global demand for pistachios currently stands at several million tons while Iran can at best export 150,000 tons per annum.
In recent years, the United States has turned into a major pistachio producing country.
Some experts say thanks to the cultivation and marketing of pistachios by the Americans, Iran could easily take advantage of the current situation to improve its pistachio exports.
Late frosts destroyed 35-55 percent of pistachio crop last year.
Iran exported 136,000 tons of pistachios worth over $800 million during March 2004-2005.
Pistachio production could decline by over 60 percent in the year to March 2006 due to unseasonably hot weather in March and frosts in April that hit almost all parts of the pistachio growing region in the southern province of Kerman.
The yield in Iran remains low at one ton per hectare, whereas other pistachio producing countries harvest three tons per hectare.

TEHRAN, Aug. 14--A senior petrochemical industry official said here on Sunday that the winner of the Ilam petrochemical tender will be announced next week, stressing that the project would be launched soon afterwards.
Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, managing director of the National Petrochemical Industries Company, told ISNA that the tender was cancelled last year due to illogical offer made by a foreign firm, adding that domestic and foreign bidders have participated in this year’s tender.
He said the contract will be signed in finance mode, adding that the project would create jobs for 1,000 people.
The official further noted that the project was supposed to begin last October, but the agreement was annulled due to the Japanese party’s refusal to reduce price.
Experts say the petrochemical industry could lose investment opportunities worth $700 million in the year to March 2006 due to the refusal of the High Economic Council to fix realistic prices for petrochemical products.
The petrochemical industry continues to feel the impacts of low prices as the pricing mechanism remains a major challenge facing the industry’s management system.
The government has been under fire in recent months for selling petrochemical products at low prices. Domestically-made polyethylene is offered at 40 percent below the international prices, experts say.
Iran will climb to the 35th spot on the world petrochemical rankings by March 2006 following plans to commission 15 refineries in the hydrocarbon-rich region of Asalouyeh in the coming months.

TEHRAN, Aug. 14--Iran’s first private power plant constructed under a BOT (build, operate and transfer) deal was linked to the national electricity supply network on Saturday. Announcing this, Kasra Farahani, power plant projects manager told Fars news agency here on Sunday that the Chehelsotoun Power Plant in the historical city of Isfahan will supply 100 megawatts of electricity, marking the completion of the first phase of the country’s first-ever private sector power plant project.
The official said the first phase of the project has been synchronized with the nationwide power supply network in the past few days.
He said the remaining five phases of the project would become operational within the next 45 days.
The nominal power generation capacity of the country’s power plants will reach 32,700 megawatts by late September.
National power industry is financially dependent on the government. The Energy Ministry has made it clear that the government cannot afford to sponsor such huge projects and sought greater participation of private companies as well as foreign investors in power industry projects in Iran.
Experts say inadequate financial resources have created serious challenges for the power industry, blaming low utility charges for the dilemma.
Necessary power industry projects are not implemented in the country due to shortage of funds.
Six power plants, which are under construction, will become operational by 2007.
These plants include gas-fueled power plants in southern Tehran, Orumieh in West Azerbaijan province, Shirvan in North Khorasan province, combined cycle power plant in the southeastern city of Kerman as well as in Kazeroun in Fars province. The total capacity of these plants is estimated at 4,600 megawatts.

MASHHAD, Khorasan Razavi, Aug. 14--Iranian expatriates will face no obstacles in purchasing shares on Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE), said the TSE chief here on Sunday.
Hossein Abdeh-Tabrizi said four brokerage firms are currently trading shares with overseas customers on the Internet, stressing that the Iranian nationals living abroad would also be able to participate in online trading.
He said the bylaw authorizing the participation of foreign investors in TSE trading has imposed some restrictions on foreign investment in the capital market, adding that foreign investors would not be allowed to take their capital out of the market for at least three years.
“Foreign investors will also not be able to purchase more than 10 percent of the shares offered on the market,“ he said, adding that such restrictions could protect Iran’s fledgling capital market against possible problems. Noting that some 100 TSE-listed companies do not report to the stock market authorities, the official said the TSE will prevent such companies from trading shares.
“If these companies do not rectify their procedures, they will be eliminated from the stock market after a year,“ he said.
The TSE chief blamed the country’s nuclear issues for the sluggish trading in the stock market, expressing hope that the capital market will get a new lease on life in coming weeks. He did not explain how the rapidly tumbling indices could rebound under the circumstances.
Experts say the Khatami administration’s approval of the bylaw authorizing direct purchase of shares by foreign parties was good news for the capital market.
They argue that while in the first instance the bylaw might seem to contain restrictive conditions for foreign investment in the capital market, it could lead to greater participation of foreign companies in the stock market.
The bylaw was drawn up by Stock Market Council and submitted to the cabinet by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance.
Foreign investors are currently permitted to purchase 50 percent shares of companies which they run in Iran.
However, the new law will help those who do not want to run a business here and are only interested in buying and selling shares.
The foreign investment bylaw is the first step towards internationalization of the stock market.