Speaking to Khabar Online, Ahmad Ghale'bani described efforts made by NIOC to eliminate Chinese equipments from the local projects and resolve the problems of Iranian manufacturers. "However in some conditions when we are facing a deadline, we need Chinese products since at times Iranian instruments cannot meet our demand based on the defined timetable, so we have to purchase them from China," he said.
"But we are working on a plan to produce oil industry equipments within the country and avoid importing Chinese products," Managing Director of NIOC added.
Referring to several shared oil and gas fields in Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea, Ghale'bani explained that there are some difficulties in manufacturing petroleum industry equipments in Iran stressing that if electronic purchasing of such technical devices is facilitated, the ground will be provided for buying the local products.
He further said that the low prices of Chinese products have led contractors to prefer them to Iranian oil industry equipments.
"The headquarters for supporting the local products has been established, we are also concentrating the specialized firms, executive processes and business affairs which will enable us to rely more on our local potentials," the official announced.
Ghale'bani maintained that currently the setbacks related to increasing the level of Iranian oil industry equipments production can be put in three categories: the structural and operational problems in governmental and public organizations, the difficulties faced by the local manufacturers and those of companies which use such instruments.
In recent years Iranian, oil and gas industry has been hit by rounds of sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies on the Islamic Republic. The move has caused international oil firms to avoid investing on Iran's energy projects which justifies the stronger presence of Chinese in Iranian oil industry.
In April 2009, for instance, Iran set a deadline for two major international oil firms, Royal Dutch Shell and Repsol from Spain to make clear their involvement in South Pars projects which has the world's largest reservoir of gas, however the West powers, above them the United States have pressured oil companies to discontinue their participation in Iranian oil and gas projects. Iranian oil officials say the door is still open to Shell to be engaged in the plan.
Earlier it was announced that India's Reliance Industries has stopped exporting gasoline to Iran averting the US punishment asserted for companies which sell gasoline to the Islamic Republic. The company also imported 90,000 barrels of crude from Iran but decided to avoid purchasing oil from Iran. Reliance hopes to increase its market share for fuel in the United States market. It is part of a general move by some countries willing to be dependent on Iran as a crude supplier.
Moreover, the extent of a financial crisis in Iran's National Oil Company has led the officials to create a special committee for the revision of oil development projects. As the Oil Minister, Mas'oud Mir Kazemi has ordered, a number of officials are to give priority to development projects and allocate the funds based on such a prioritization.
The labor force involved in oil projects particularly in South Pars region has been reduced, many projects have been nearly brought to a standstill, most of the contractors are coping with financial problems and have to discharge their a portion of their employees.
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