The three companies will set up joint ventures to fund oil and gas development projects, with Ghadir Exploration and Production Company leading the consortium in which each company will have equal share of the financing.
Non-governmental Ghadir Investment Company (GIC) has been given approval by the Iranian oil ministry to carry out oil and gas development projects.
According to Platts, Ghadir is affiliated to the Armed Forces Social Security Organization and is the largest investment company listed on the Tehran stock exchange.
Ghadir has signed agreements with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to carry out feasibility studies for phase 3 of the of the Darkhowin oil project, as well as for the Sepehr and Jofeir oil fields and the Kish gas field.
Both of Ghadir’s foreign partners in the latest oil and gas venture—Zarubezhneft and Unit International—are not new to signing deals with Iran.
Last month, Zarubezhneft signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) to study the possible development of Iran’s Shadegan and Rag Sefid oil fields. The Russian firm was also one of the firms with which the NIOC has signed28 MoUs with local and international companies for possible development of oil and gas fields in Iran since most of the Western sanctions on Iran’s oil were lifted.
Turkish energy company Unit International, for its part, signed in June last year a US$4.2-billion deal with the Iranian energy ministry to build seven natural gas combined-cycle power plants in different regions in Iran with a combined installed capacity of 6,020 megawatts.
