TEHRAN - Iran’s Oil Ministry has created a stable market for knowledge-based companies, said a ministry official.

Talking to Shana, Mehdi Abbasi, an assistant and advisor to the head of the Oil Ministry’s Department of Engineering, Research and Technology (DOERT), added a sustainable market was one of the dire needs of knowledge-based firms, which has been met by the four main subsidiary companies of the Oil Ministry.

He said 150 knowledge-based were cooperating with the Oil Ministry when the 13th administration took office in August 2021, continuing that the number soared to 550 in 2022 and now stands at 663.

Given the Oil Ministry’s policies on supporting Iranian manufacturers, domestic producers and knowledge-based companies on the Approved Vendor List (AVL) have for the first time in the country’s oil industry outnumbered suppliers, as their number has risen to 2,500 from 1,500 in the beginning of the incumbent government’s term.

Oil Minister Javad Oji introduced 540 items to knowledge-based companies in May 2023, recalled the official, explaining some of the products and equipment have entered the stage of first-time production and contract.

Abbasi pointed to imports of foreign products and equipment, which are also produced in Iran, as a major concern for knowledge-based companies, adding, “In addition to items the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade has imposed import ban on, the oil minister has banned the import of over 250 products and equipment.”

Aiming to produce essential equipment inside the country and make maximum use of knowledge-based companies’ capacities, the Oil Ministry has signed agreements worth $5.2 billion with the Presidential Office of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, he continued.

Ranking first in two consecutive years

The Oil Ministry stood top as the leading supporter of knowledge-based companies and first-time production for the second year in a row in 2023, said the assistant and advisor to the DOERT head.

Up to now, 62 projects valued at $92 million have been signed with 51 knowledge-based companies, mentioned the official, adding the supply cost will decrease 30 to 60 percent when the products imported from foreign countries are made inside Iran by putting the aforesaid contracts into practice.

According to him, more than $350 million will be saved annually when the projects are carried out.

Abbasi said 14 items, including turboexpander, cryogenic cold box exchanger, and centrifugal compressor, have been produced for the first time and used in refineries and other oil complexes.

The revival of low-producing and shutdown oil wells, first-time production of strategic equipment, collection of associated gases, development of sulfur chain value, and promotion of oil products’ quality are among the most effective measures of knowledge-based companies, he pointed out.

The oil industry needs 99 catalysts, said the assistant, adding only three catalysts had been indigenized until 2001 while the number of homegrown catalysts rose to 13 in 2011 and has now reached 95.

Exports of techno engineering services

The Oil Ministry not only has created markets for Iranian companies, but also has facilitated exports of knowledge-based firms’ products, Abbasi said.

In addition to the formation of a working group for technical and engineering services exports comprising DOERT, Department of International Affairs and Commerce (DIAC), and other subsidiaries, the Oil Ministry’s affiliated companies has carried out other important measures such as the overhaul and renovation of refineries in foreign countries, making every effort to make maximum use of domestic manufacturers and knowledge-based companies, he pointed out.

For instance, the official continued, 2.7 million items made by Iranian manufacturers were supplied to Venezuela for renovating its El Palito refinery.

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