The fund will support knowledge-based companies interested in the oil-related sector. “The ministry wants startups to propose new ideas and innovative plans to help cut production costs and improve productivity in the key sector.”

The ministry’s R&D department is tasked with expanding technological facilities for the rapidly expanding startup companies.

Zangan opened the first Oil Technology Park in Shahr-e-Rey in south Tehran last year that is providing researchers aid and equipment to implement their plans.

Iran’s oil industry is facing major challenges especially since 2018 and after the US unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, and reimposed economic sanctions, including on the oil, tech, banking and transport sectors.

The draconian sanctions have taken the form of an economic blockade and made it impossible for international companies to cooperate with Iran. As a result, local firms and startups have been emerging to help address the numerous challenges.

Startups have already produced and indigenized key catalysts and essential equipment and parts for the petrochemical and drilling sectors, Zanganeh noted.

According to Mohammad Sadeq Khayyatian, an official with Iran’s National Innovation Fund, due to overdependence on oil export revenue, the government did not pay enough attention to the revenue-generating potential of knowledge-based firm run and manned mainly by the youth.

Khayyatian said that has now changed and Iran is increasingly counting on the technology ecosystem for creating wealth and the government is also increasing its financial support to knowledge-based companies.

“The government is planning to offer hightech firms tax and customs exemption, ease the cumbersome process of issuing commercial licenses, cut social security insurance costs, reduce the obligatory military service duration and help empower innovative business.”

Of the 5,700 knowledge-based companies in Iran, 1,418 are involved in information and communications technologies, 1,267 in machinery and equipment and 1,111 in electronic products.

The post Iran Oil Ministry to Invest $80m in Startups appeared first on Iran News Daily.

In this meeting, the minister addressed the most important programs and goals for materializing this year’s slogan and emphasized: “The main goal [of these programs] is to focus on issues and problems that can be addressed and solved within the oil industry.”

The official mentioned a letter that he had written to the heads of the four major companies regarding the main plans for the current year, saying: “I expressed my views on the subject and asked the heads of the four companies to draft a document to determine the measures that should be taken in the months to come.”

Zanganeh further mentioned the great progress made in the oil industry during the previous year, and noted that sanctions were a determining factor that had a strong impact on the plans and programs of the Oil Ministry.

Elsewhere in the meeting, Deputy Oil Minister for Planning Houshang Falahatian briefed the attendees on the Oil Ministry’s programs for the current year.

According to Falahatian, the oil industry’s executive plans for the current year are prepared with a focus on the three sectors of production, support, and barriers in order to fulfill the motto of the year.

Maintaining and increasing oil production, managing subsidiaries, manufacturing in-house equipment, and goods required by the oil, gas, petrochemical, and refining industries, reducing paperwork and eliminating unnecessary regulations in the oil industry, optimizing and upgrading existing refineries, developing downstream oil and petrochemical industries, reducing gas consumption, increasing the production capacity of natural gas, development of the petrochemical industry and accelerating the implementation of projects related to the second and third leaps of petrochemical industry were among the major goals that the ministry has put on the agenda for the current year.

The post Zanganeh outlines oil ministry’s major plans appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The decision was made during the 179th meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) conference which was held on Saturday via video conference, Shana reported.

Zamaninia was named Iran’s ad-hoc OPEC governor back in May following Kazempour’s demise.

Iran’s former governor to OPEC passed away on May 16 after suffering a brain hemorrhage and falling into a coma. Kazempour Ardebili, 68, died at a hospital in capital Tehran.

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