Iran is accelerating its push to unlock oil production capacity through private-sector partnership, with more than 30 investment contracts signed at the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), the country's largest crude producer.
Amir Moghiseh, director of investment and business development at the National Iranian Oil Company, said the deals target three strategic objectives: capturing associated gas, expanding processing infrastructure, and securing onshore drilling rigs—all aimed at boosting output and curbing environmental waste.
The most significant environmental impact comes from 23 contracts dedicated to gas capture, which are expected to extinguish 57 flares in Khuzestan province. Officials project 400 million cubic feet of associated gas will be collected by year-end, with 40 million cubic feet saved from burning during Government Week alone.
On the processing front, seven contracts using skid-mounted rapid-installation equipment will add 380,000 barrels per day of crude processing capacity—equivalent to roughly 11–12 percent of the country's total. Moghiseh noted some projects are already running ahead of schedule and could come online earlier than anticipated.
In a third pillar, NISOC has outsourced services for 18 onshore drilling rigs under public-private partnership frameworks. The first rig, financed by private capital, is currently being commissioned at the Ab-Teymour field and will soon begin drilling.
"Private-sector participation in upstream projects can pave the way for increasing production and strengthening the industry's capacities over the next 5 to 10 years," Moghiseh said, adding that the investments would also boost employment and foreign-currency revenues.
With additional rigs expected to enter operational zones within two to three months, the program signals Tehran's growing reliance on non-state capital to sustain and expand its oil infrastructure—a strategic shift as the country seeks to maximize its vast hydrocarbon resources amid evolving global energy dynamics.
