Development of Iran"s Esfandiar oilfield...

"A Malaysian contractor is to take hold of the project" in the Persian Gulf, said the head of Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC), Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, in an interview with Iran"s ISNA news agency.

IOOC said in October that QNB would finance the development of the Esfandiar oilfield.

"According to Iran"s regulations related to finance contracts in the oil industry, 85 percent of primary investment in finance projects should be provided by investors, but Qatar"s National Bank is to provide 100% of the funding," the head of financial office of IOOC, Hossein Jafari, was quoted by Press TV as saying.

Esfandiar and Forouzan oilfields are shared by both Iran and Saudi Arabia and have so far been mainly exploited by the Saudis.

Iran"s five-year energy development plan requires investment of around $30 billion each year, according to the agency.

TEHRAN/MOSCOW, January 5 (RIA Novosti)