Iran eyes new investments near South Pars

TEHRAN, June 26 (UPI) -- Iran plans major investments in its energy sector to bring a petrochemical complex and several gas fields online in the next few years, officials said.

Jalil Ebrahimpour, manager of the National Petrochemical Co., said foreign companies had pumped $15.6 billion into facilities in the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone, a free-trade zone near the South Pars gas field.

Meanwhile, Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari announced plans to develop new fields in the coming years, Press TV reports.

"Several projects including the development of North Pars, Golshan and Ferdowsi gas fields will be operational in the next four years," he said.

His comments came during the inauguration of the $230 million Mehr Petrochemical Complex in Asalouyeh developed jointly with other Asian partners.

Tehran says it has plans to develop 20 separate oil and gas fields under the terms of a five-year plan that gets under way in 2010.

Iran is the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and holds the third-largest reserves of crude oil in the world. It holds the second-largest gas reserves behind Russia.