Azernews.Az

Iranian Oil minister Rostam Qasemi has said that the National Iranian Oil Company will start selling oil bonds in the near future.

According to national budget law, the Oil Ministry's subsidiaries are obliged to sell bonds totally up to a ceiling of $5 billion in the current Iranian calendar year which ends on March 20, 2013.

On November 7, the Iranian Offshore Oil Company's managing director Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh said the company will issue $500 million worth of bonds to finance oil projects in the current Iranian calendar year which ends on March 20, 2013.
IOOC also plans to issue 7.5 trillion rials (about $610 million) in bonds by December 5, ISNA quoted him as saying.

In July, an official at the Iranian Oil Ministry said the Central Bank of Iran has opened a $10 billion line of credit for a number of domestic oil projects in the upstream sector.

"Benefiting from 18 per cent of assets from the National Development Fund; issuing $10 billion in foreign currency bonds; issuing 15 trillion rials in bonds and selling $10 billion worth of shares and properties of the Oil Ministry are among other sources of finance for the oil projects," Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr told Shana news agency.

Minister Qasemi said in April that at least $30 billion will be invested in the domestic oil industry this year.

He added that a major portion of the sum will be allocated to the South Pars gas field projects.

The South Pars gas field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share which is divided into 29 phases has about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight per cent of the total world reserves.

Qasemi also said that global economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic would not hinder the country's oil industry development.

The oil ministry is committed to accelerating the implementation of its development plans, financed through the financial system and through government bonds, he said.
Iran holds second place as world's largest natural gas reserve after Russia.