TEHRAN (Iran News) –  Iranian Oil Industry Innovation and Technology Park signed four memorandums of understanding (MOU) with the country’s knowledge-based companies on Monday to cooperate in a variety of areas, Shana reported.

The MOUs covered cooperation in areas like providing capital for innovative companies and market development, using the infrastructure of Iran’s National Tech Market network in creating and developing the oil industry technology market, supporting and empowering businesses to meet the needs of the petrochemical industry, and artificial intelligence, as well as Internet of Things (IoT).

The mentioned MOUs were signed with Iran National Innovation Fund (INIF), Pardis Technology Park, Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGSIC), and Parsian Data Processing Group Company, in a ceremony attended by senior officials including Oil Minister Javad Oji, Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari, Science, Research and Technology Minister Mohammad Ali Zolfigol.

Oil ministry to focus on improving recovery of wells

Speaking on the sidelines of the signing ceremony which was held on the occasion of the National Research Day, Oil Minister Javad Oji mentioned the new plan of the Oil Ministry for the development of oil and gas fields and noted that this new program will be focused on the improvement of the recovery factor of oil and gas wells.

“We believe that more than 700 [oil and gas] wells can be developed to have higher efficiency and productivity in less time by using the capacities of knowledge-based companies,” Oji said.

The minister referred to a visit to some of the country’s knowledge-based companies in the past few weeks and added: “There are knowledge-based companies that are able to increase the production capacity of [oil and gas] wells with advanced initiatives and new methods.”

The official noted that based on the Oil Ministry’s traditional contracts, a total field is assigned to a domestic or foreign company to maintain or increase its production; which will have high costs.

In the new program that the oil industry is considering, apart from the discussion of reservoir development, the focus will be on improving wells and assigning oil and gas wells to smaller knowledge-based companies.

Referring to the existence of more than 5,500 oil and gas wells in 400 oil and gas fields across the country, he said: “Using the capacities of knowledge-based companies, we will undoubtedly be able to increase the annual production capacity of these fields by more than 80 million barrels.”

NIOC calls for transfer of new knowledge, technology

Further in the ceremony, Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr stressed the need to access and transfer new knowledge and technology by the company and said: “Underground capital [oil and gas reserves] is not our (Iran’s) leverage. It can only be considered an advantage when we are able to recover and produce from them.”

He put the country’s total hydrocarbon resources at about 1.200 trillion barrels of crude oil equivalent, located in 400 oil and gas reservoirs, saying that Iran’s oil and gas reservoirs are the most complex reservoirs in the world.

Pointing out that in the current situation, less than 30 percent of the available resources can be extracted with the available technologies, Khojasteh-Mehr said: “This has one meaning [and that is] if we want to turn existing resources into wealth, we must use new science and technology,” he stressed.

Developing national standards in oil industry

Elsewhere in the event, Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari mentioned some of the problems that domestic producers are facing in obtaining international standards due to the U.S. sanction, saying that the country should develop national standards in the oil industry.

“Although we have had good investments in research, we have not been able to produce much,” he regretted.

Sattari noted that the Iranian oil and gas industry used to use foreign-made equipment and machinery for so many years and this caused the industry to become reliant on external sources but the situation has changed and now despite the sanctions domestic companies are meeting most of the needs of the industry.

Investment in knowledge, technology to boost revenues

Furthermore, Science, Research and Technology Minister Mohammad Ali Zolfigol pointed to the significance of investment in research, knowledge, and technology and said: “By investing in science and technology, it is possible to prevent the sales of raw materials in the oil industry [by creating products with higher added-value].”

“Instead of selling oil for $60 a barrel, if we trust the researchers, we will produce products worth hundreds of dollars,” he said.