Iran drops Russia's Gazprom from developing oil field, claiming delays

Iran has dropped Russian giant Gazprom from an oil field project near the Iraqi border, claiming development is taking too long, The Washington Post quoted AP as reporting.

Hamid Karimi, a senior Oil Ministry official, is quoted by the semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying that a consortium of Iranian companies will replace Gazprom in the Azar oil field project.

Iran is OPEC’s second largest oil exporter and the world’s fourth largest crude oil producer. The country relies on oil exports for about 80 percent of its public revenues and.

Iran produces about 4.1 million barrels a day, of which roughly 2.5 million per day are exported.

Years of sanctions have deterred significant investment by international companies with deep pockets and technical expertise.

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