"We are (currently) assessing the commerciality of the finds (made by OVL and its parnters)... Our priority will be to give the development rights to ONGC," Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on sidelines of the 19th World Petroleum Congress here.
The consortium of OVL, Indian Oil and Oil India Ltd has proposed to invest about USD 3 billion in bringing to production 12.8 Tcf recoverable gas reserves it found last year at Farsi block, Iran, in next 3-4 years.
The consortium had submitted a commerciality report of the gas find in December and is awaiting a decision from the Iranian authorities to go ahead with the development.
Iranian Minister said his country was keen to have Indian firms invest in the oil and gas exploration in his country.
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OVL-IOC-OIL have a service contract for the Farsi block where they will be reimbursed 35 per cent over the $90 million investment they have made during the exploration phase.
If the consortium gets the developmental rights, they will be paid a 15 per cent rate of return over and above the investments they make.
The Indian firm has made a proposal to Iran to liquefy the gas and ship it to India in form of liquefied natural gas. Tehran is evaluating the plan.
"The oil and gas will belong to National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC). They have the marketing rights and we have requested them to allocate the gas to us for converting it into LNG," an ONGC official said.