Tehran — Iran is negotiating with 16 international energy companies to help operate and manage 50 oil and natural gas projects across the country to boost production after years of sanctions. The projects under discussion are feasible even with oil at $40 a barrel, Gholam-Reza Manouchehri, a deputy director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday. The South Azadegan field on Iran’s southwestern border will be the first deal announced, and probably needs $10bn to add 600,000 barrels a day of output, he said. "We have a lot of companies approaching NIOC," Manouchehri said. "I’m not sure when we’ll sign the first contract. I hope it will be earlier" than a year from now, he added. Iran is recovering from sanctions that strangled its economy and choked off investment in its oil and gas industry. An easing of sanctions in January has allowed the country to ramp up oil exports, to 2-million barrels a day in July from 1.4-million at the end of 2015...
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