TEHRAN - National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed 13 major research-based deals valued at over €178.6 million (€35 million plus 7.16 trillion rials) with the country’s universities and research institutes in a ceremony on Monday, Shana reported.

The signing ceremony was attended by senior officials from the country’s oil industry, including the Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.

As reported, the mentioned deals, mostly focused on improving the recovery factor of the country’s oil and gas fields, were signed with the universities of Tehran, Sharif, Amirkabir, Sahand, Shiraz, Oil Industry, Ferdowsi, Science and Technology, Shahid Chamran, Isfahan, and Islamic Azad University, in addition to the Persian Gulf and Petroleum Industry Research Institute.

These deals were signed in line with an Oil Ministry’s program for increasing the contribution of the country’s universities and knowledge centers in the oil industry projects.

Since the beginning of the program in 2014 up to date, universities and research institutes have been awarded the projects for improving the production of 22 major oil and gas fields with a total value of over €80 million.

Back in August, the head of NIOC’s Research and Technology Directorate said the company was going to conduct 25 major research projects worth nearly 700 billion rials (about $16 million) in the current Iranian calendar year (ends in March 2021).

Ebrahim Taleqani mentioned NIOC Exploration Directorate’s agreements with Iranian universities and knowledge-based companies for research in various fields, saying that the Exploration Directorate was tasked to sign seven research agreements, four of which have been signed.

The official noted that other NIOC subsidiaries have also been tasked to increase their research activities and in this regard, almost all of them are going to sign similar research agreements in the near future.

Since the re-imposition of the U.S. sanctions, Iran has been encouraging domestic companies, universities, and research institutes’ presence in its oil and gas projects in all sectors including research, exploration, and development sectors.

EF/MA