Iran Needs $24 Billion for Oil Projects This Year, Etemaad Says

By Ladane Nasseri

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Iran needs $24 billion to complete oil projects this year and the lack of sufficient investments is a “challenge,” Etemaad reported, citing a ministry official.

The budget of Iran’s National Iranian Oil Co. for the calendar year starting March 20 has been cut by a third because of the fall in oil prices, Managing Director Seifollah Jashnsaz said, according to the newspaper.

Investment shortage is the state-owned company’s “most important challenge,” Jashnsaz said, without giving details of the projects.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at lnasseri@bloomberg.net.