Page 59 - IRANRptMay21

A contract for the Golkhari oilfield was awarded to North Drilling Co. (Sina Energy Gostar Holding), which is owned by the Bonyad-e Mostazafan Foundation, a religious endowment for war veterans and the poor. Both fall under the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (EIKO).
A deal for the third and fourth phases of the 1.1bn barrel Gachsaran oilfield was agreed with the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Co. (IOEC) which previously picked up a job on the third phase of the Maroun oilfield.
Meanwhile, PetroIran Development Co. (PEDCO) was awarded work on the Binak oilfield, following the August award of a job on the 3.7bn barrel Mansourabad oilfield.
Work on the Solabdar field was apportioned to a consortium of Qeshm Oil and Energy Industries and Maroun Karan, which also jointly won a contract for projects 1 and 4 at the supergiant Ahvaz field in August. Ahvaz was discovered in 1958, holding 63bn barrels of oil in place and is operated by NIOC subsidiary Karoun Oil and Gas Production Co. (KOGPC).
A consortium of the National Iranian Drilling Co. (NIDC) and Jahanpars Engineering & Construction Co. was a repeat winner, adding a job on the Lali Bangestan field to the contract for the Balaroud oilfield they won in August. Khatam-al Anbiya Construction Headquarters (KAA), the engineering arm of the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was awarded by far the largest contract covering work on the second, third and fifth phases of Ahvaz as well as the offshore Reshadat.
Meanwhile, Mashin Sazi Arak in which KAA is known to hold shares was awarded a deal for the Bibi Hakimeh oilfield which has around 500mn barrels of oil remaining.
While these contract awards to local companies should come as little surprise to Iran watchers given Tehran propensity for pushing forward with the development of domestic assets without the help of foreign firms prohibited from entering the Iranian market by US-led sanctions, they are perhaps more noteworthy because of the clear expanding influence of the KAA.
9.2.2 Automotive corporate news
Iran Khodro to release semi-automatic gearbox
Iranian automaker Saipa puts Aria
Iran Khodro (IKCO), Iran’s partially state-owned automotive behemoth, has announced a new six-speed semi-automatic gearbox with a 70% localised production, ISNA reported on March 1.
IKCO, which previously worked with Stelantis (previously PSA Group) prior to the imposition of new US sanctions, continues to provide much of the personal vehicle stock of the country with its assembly of Peugeot and Dacia vehicles, as well as own-branded IKCO models.
Vice-president for research and development Mohammad Reza Yousefi said that 70% of the new gearbox has been designed by “elite and young Iranians”, with further localisation expected to reach 90% by 2022.
The company representative said the project had taken eight months, unlike the usual 18 months, to complete and had been done entirely within the confines of the company, as foreign assistance has been absent due to sanctions.
Yousefi said that on the back of the development the company would further invest in a new centre of excellence for gearboxes on the outskirts of Tehran in the coming year (after March 21).
Iranian automaker SAIPA (Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën) has put a C-segment crossover, the Aria, into
59 IRAN Country Report May 2021 www.intellinews.com