Drilling Industry Expo in Ahvaz

Domestic Economy Desk

Over 135 companies and big manufacturers of parts and equipment of the oil industry took part in the eighth specialized exhibition of drilling industry inaugurated in Ahvaz last Wednesday.
Concurrent with the third day of this exhibition, a confab on expansion of networks for producing equipment needed in drilling industry of the country was held in Ahvaz, Shana reported.
Three Khuzestan MPs, chief and members of the Society of Khuzestan’s Manufacturers of Equipment for Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industries, managing director of Khuzestan’s Industrial Townships Company, senior managers of the National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) as well as managing directors of companies that manufacture related equipment were present in the confab.
Addressing the meeting, head of the Assembly of Khuzestan MPs, Majid Nasserinejad said the 18 Khuzestan MPs in Majlis seriously support various industries in Khuzestan, especially in the oil and drilling sector.
“The assembly possesses high potentials and more coordination between the MPs and industrialists of the province can help remove the existing problems and expedite its advancement,” he noted.
He emphasized that given the status of the province in the oil and energy sector, it is very important to expand related infrastructures, acquire self-sufficiency, and generate new job opportunities.
“NIDC has carried out special policies in relation to activities of local manufacturers and it has taken lofty steps in supporting production of parts and pieces of equipment needed by the province. It is expected that this trend becomes more widespread by the day.”

Local Experts
Ahvaz MP Nasser Soudani referred to the capabilities of local experts, industrialists and manufacturers.
“The province has high potentials in the industrial and agro sectors. By expanding industries linked to oil industry, grounds would be paved for development of the province as much as possible,” he added.
He lauded the NIDC for its success in backing local and indigenizing the complicated drilling industry manufacturers.
“Currently, some 300 industrial units are active in manufacturing industrial parts and equipment throughout the province. … Expanding these units can be effective in creating new employment opportunities and flourishing of the province’s industrial townships, which are ranked first in the country,” he noted.

Industrial Clusters
Another Ahvaz MP, Sharif Hosseini said formation of industrial clusters with the support of the governmental sector and institutions of higher learning can help remove challenges facing industrialists and manufacturers and also facilitate their progress.
“Today, we are witness to manufacturing of drilling industry’s equipment and parts and even local rigs. This mode of operation should spread to other industrial sectors.”
Chairman of the Board of the Society of Khuzestan’s Manufacturers of Equipment for Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industries Ali Korani said the society, in a short period of time, has managed to bring together the best provincial manufacturers of oil industry equipment.
Managing Director of NIDC Heidar Bahmani outlined the accomplishments of his company in its three decades of activities and said this success is product of diligent efforts of the company’s staffers.
“One achievement of NIDC, which was realized in tandem with the policies and plans of Oil Ministry and National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), is heeding building of parts and equipment of drilling industry,” Bahmani said.
Subsequent to this measure, so far 2 trillion rials (about $200 million) has been invested in local industries, he said, adding in the past few years, NIDC has indigenized 16,000 parts that are widely used in drilling industry in the wake of collaboration of local manufacturers and scientific and research centers of the country.
The official went on to say that at present, making parts is transcended and manufacturing equipment has been fulfilled.
“NIDC has closely interacted with the private sector and in addition to achieving self-reliance in procuring the needs of this strategic industrial endeavor it has facilitated a significant number of new job opportunities” he added.

Indigenization of Drilling Industry
Meanwhile, on the third day of the exhibition a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked between NIDC, Industrial Townships Company and the Society of Khuzestan’s Manufacturers of Equipment for Oil, Gas and Petrochemical industries.
The trilateral MoU pertains to indigenization of drilling industry. It aims at bolstering cooperation among the said three entities for creating the needed infrastructures for indigenizing drilling industry. Among issues outlined in the MoU is cooperating and exchanging viewpoints for realization of engineering needs for manufacturing equipment needed by the provincial oil industry upon relying on strategic components.

GC Against Change In CBI General Assembly

Guardians Council (GC) has opposed to the Majlis ratification about changing the configuration of the General Assembly of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and eliminating the role of the president from it.
Iranian parliament passed a bill in mid November that removed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from his influential post as Chairman of the General Assembly of Iran’s Central Bank.
Deputy head of the Majlis Economic Commission, Kazem Delkhosh, said the GC made a correct decision as the Majlis ratification contradicts the constitution and harms the conditions of CBI.
“CBI, as the mother of all banks of the country, should be dealt with within its range of authority and interfering in some activities of the CBI contradicts the governing laws and regulations and harms its conditions,” he added, Mehr News Agency reported.
He recalled that some MPs voted for the ratification and some others opposed.
“In any event, we believe in independence of the CBI. The people’s money and capital in the banking system are covered by the CBI. Plans should be made in such a manner that the Majlis and government do not interfere in implementing CBI’s guidelines,” he noted
Governor of CBI Mahmoud Bahmani said if one day he feels that independence of CBI has been marred, he will resign.
“CBI has never lost its independence and it will never lose it. Each person has a share in the CBI’s reserves and we should maintain this. CBI is duty-bound to make sure that this principle is not adversely affected.”
Recently, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said those people who seek independence of CBI want to separate it from the state and control its activities
In Article 80 of the outlines of the Fifth Development Plan (2010-2015) it is mentioned: CBI’s General Assembly has 11 members. Tenure of each member is for 10 years and only for one term.
Members are minister of economy, vice president for planning and strategic supervision, prosecutor general, chief of Iran Chamber of Commerce, industries and Mines (ICCIM) and seven economists with at least 15 years of work experience.
For the first term, the president concurrently introduces the seven economists to the Majlis and they are selected with the vote of majority of the MPs. Furthermore, every two years the president can change one of the seven economists with the Majlis’s vote of confidence. The General Assembly members choose one person from among themselves to head the general assembly.
At present, the president, economy minister, vice president for planning and strategic supervision, commerce minister and one of the ministers as chosen by the Cabinet constitute members of the General Assembly. In its ratification, the Majlis intended to eliminate the president from the general assembly.
The president proposes a person as the governor of CBI, who must be verified by the general assembly and appointed as per a presidential decree.

14 Projects Underway in South Pars

Iran is implementing 14 mega projects in its giant South Pars field that are scheduled to be completed in 35 months.
“Iran has embarked on the development of 14 projects in South Pars, which will officially come on stream in 35 months,” Mehr News Agency quoted Pars Special Economic Energy Zone Managing Director Moussa Souri as saying on Friday.
He added that Iranian gas industry officials have decided that flaring should be halted in the South Pars gas field as soon as possible to improve the region’s environment.
“One of our main priorities right now is to increase the exploitation of gas in the South Pars field,” Souri noted.
According to BP, Iran’s has 137.6 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 29.61 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves. Iran ranks third in the world in oil reserves and second in gas reserves.
Gas production at Iran’s giant offshore natural gas field, South Pars, rose by nearly 30 per cent between March 2009 and March 2010. That amounts to around 59 billion cubic meters of processed gas for the full year, or around 162 million cubic meters per day.
The South Pars gas field is located in the Persian Gulf in the border zone between Iran and Qatar. The field’s reserves are estimated at 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of gas condensates.
The South Pars field covers an area of 3700 square kilometers. The process of developing gas production projects in the South Pars Special Economic Energy Zone is divided into 28 phases.
According to Pars Oil and Gas Company Managing Director Ali Vakili, production at Iran’s giant South Pars gas field will rise to 175 million cubic meters per day in the next two years.
In July, the European Union imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran, which mainly sought to target investment and technical assistance to Iran’s refining, liquefaction, and liquefied natural gas sectors.
Iran has in return stated that it will launch multibillion-dollar projects in South Pars with the help of its domestic expertise, experience, and financial resources.
The United Nations Security Council has so far imposed four rounds of sanctions against Iran. The sanctions are meant to punish Iran for what the Security Council has deemed questionable nuclear activities.

Iran, Azerbaijan Agree on Management of Water Resources

Iran and Azerbaijan inked two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on mutual cooperation in management of water resources in the Caspian Sea.
The agreements were signed during a five-day visit to Baku by Head of Iran’s Water Research Institute (WRI) Mohammad Riyahi and head of Iran’s Caspian Sea National Research Center Homayoun Khoshravan.
The MoUs were endorsed between the Iranian centers and the Geography Institute of Azerbaijan’s Science Academy as well as Caspian Sea Research Center of Azerbaijan, Fars News Agency reported.
Elaborating on the agreements, Riyahi said that with these agreements the Water Research Institute has opened a new chapter of cooperation with one of the most important littoral countries of the Caspian Sea.
Riyahi also said that the MoUs prepare the necessary conditions for joint cooperation between WRI and the Caspian Sea National Research Center in all strategic programs.
Tehran and Baku have sought to expand their ties, especially in trade and economic fields, and signed several cooperation agreements earlier this year.
In November, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad underlined the good and friendly relations between Tehran and Baku, and said the two neighbors share common views and stands on international issues.
The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijani have adopted common stands on global issues, he said in a joint press conference with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
The Azeri president, for his part, described the two sides’ relations as excellent, and called for expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries.

Economist: Economic Growth Promising

The Economist in its recent report has predicted that Iran will witness a 3-percent growth in 2010.
In its November report, Economist predicted a relative economic growth for Iran which is affected by the increase in its limited oil production as well as the rise in global oil prices, ISNA wrote.
According to the institute, the growth rate will be less than the recorded growth between 2005 to 2008 mainly due to reduction in oil prices and the sanctions imposed on the country.
The Economist estimated that real GDP growth in the last year was equivalent to 0.7 percent and put the blame on the reduction of oil prices which affected the private consumption and investment.
Although this trend will change next year, but it is expected that oil exports will remains at a low level due to the shortage of oil refining capacity which will result in more gasoline imports.
Considering these factors, it is predicted that Iran’s economic growth this year and next year will increase to 3 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
According to the report economic growth for 2013, 2014 will be 3.1 percent and 2.9 percent respectively.
GDP growth equal to 2.9 percent will be recorded for 2015, the report added.

Seminar for Expats

Tehran hosted a seminar themed on the investment of expatriates in Iran, particularly in Tehran Stock Exchange.