In March 1999, Frances Elf Aquitaine and Italys Eni/Agip were awarded a $1 billion contract for a secondary recovery program at the offshore, 1.5-billion-Barrel Doroud Oil and Natural Gas field located near Kharg Island. The program is intended to boost production from around 136,000 bbl/d to as high as 205,000 bbl/d. Total is Operator of the project, with a 55 percent share, while Eni holds the other 45 percent.
In April 1999, Iran awarded Elf (46.75 percent share), along with Canadas Bow Valley Energy (15 percent share), a buyback contract to develop the offshore Balal field. Eni is also involved, with a 38.25 percent stake. The field, which contains some 80 million barrels of reserves, started producing at a 20,000-bbl/d rate in early 2003, and reportedly reached 40,000 bbl/d in February 2004. On March 18, 2005, a much-sought-after contract to develop the giant Bangestan field was awarded to Petro Iran Development Co., after having been delayed several times since 2001. Bangestan contains an estimated 6 billion barrels of oil reserves and produces about 250,000 bbl/d of oil, but the field is one of the oldest in the country, requiring investment and technological applications to compensate for natural decline. In April 2003, Shell stated that it was frustrated with the slow pace of negotiations on Bangestan, including numerous changes to terms of the project. Total and BP then bid on the project, which is now reported likely to be awarded to a local firm (PetroIran) instead. Development of Bangestan could cost $3 billion over 10 years, and aims to raise output to 600,000 bbl/d.