State-run National Iranian Oil Company’s (NIOC) offshore subsidiary is inviting companies to pre-qualify to develop platforms for the some of its largest offshore fields.

Iranian Offshore Oil Company intends to tender the engineering, procurement, drilling, construction, installation and financing of platforms A20/21 at the Aboozar field and D22 at Drood in a 30-month contract. Aboozar, which is Iran’s largest offshore field, lies 76 kilometres southwest of Kharg Island.

Interested companies have until 2 August 2017 to submit pre-qualification documents.

Work on Aboozar, which produces 140,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil from 90 wells, is budgeted at $205.2m. The field suffered damage as a result of bombings during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s and required extensive reconstruction work to resume production.

Crude from Aboozar is transferred to Kharg Island through a 24-inch pipeline.

The adjacent Drood field, which started output in 1964, also produces 140,000 b/d. The latest project on the field has been budgeted at $104.6m.

Pressure decline has prompted enhanced oil recovery on Drood to keep up stable production. Around 120 million square feet a day of gas and 250,000 b/d of sea water is pumped to improve oil recovery.

Iran has seen its oil production steadily increase since nuclear-related sanctions were lifted under the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in January 2016.

Production of oil and condensate in Iran grew reached pre-sanctions levels last year. The country produced 4.6 million b/d of crude and condensate in 2016, registering an 18 per cent increase over the previous year, according to the latest BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

NIOC pre-qualified 29 foreign firms in January 2017 to participate in oil and gas tenders in the country. It is expected to tender North and South Azadegan - a large onshore field straddling Iraq - and has received technical studies from four international firms for its exploration and development.