The contracts were signed with Iranian contractors on Sunday at the ministry’s building in the capital Tehran.

The projects developed under the four deals will generate $17 billion in revenues for the country.

One of the contracts, signed with the Oil Industries Engineering and Construction (OIEC), calls for developing the Changouleh oil field located in the western province of Ilam, 5km north of the border with Iraq. The field contains almost 4,800 million barrels of in-place crude oil.  

Under the 20-year contract, a total of 228,000 barrels of crude oil will be produced from the Changouleh field.

The oil ministry also signed a contract with Mapna Oil and Gas Development Company to develop the Band-Karkheh oil field in the southwestern Khuzestan province.

The field is estimated to contain nearly 980 million barrels of in-place crude oil. Under the 15-year contract, a total of 56.6 million barrels of oil will be produced from the field.

Another contract was also signed with Mapna Oil and Gas Development Company to provide crude production services for the three oil fields of Qalenar, Kaboud and Balaroud, with a total capacity of 40,000 barrels per day for ten years.

A contract was also signed with Maham Sharq Industrial Group to construct a crude oil production unit at the Mansouri oil field, with a capacity of 75,000 barrels per day for ten years.

Under the newly-signed contracts, Iran’s annual oil production will boost, which will help the country increase its revenues, while the private sector will have a more active role in upstream projects of the country’s oil industry.

Iran has in recent years worked on developing its oil industry by using domestic capabilities and in line with its Resistance Economy principles amid Western sanctions limiting the presence of foreign firms in the country.