Japan’s National Oil Corp. is to invest in and provide a guarantee for a Japanese group’s share in the development of the offshore Soroush and Nowrooz oilfields in Iran. JNOC will invest USD 13.8 million and provide a USD 60 million loan guarantee for the project developed jointly by lead contractors Shell with the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) and a Japanese consortium. The consortium, JJI S&N BV, is a joint venture of JNOC, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., and INPEX Corp. It acquired 20% of the participating interest in the service contract in both fields from Shell. Shell was chosen for a buyback project in 1999 for the Soroush and Nowrooz oilfields, which were closed during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Full production of 190,000bpd from both fields is expected in August 2003.
