AZADEGAN OIL FIELD, Iran (AP) — At this huge oil field in southwest Iran, one building stands out among the pumps and maze of pipelines: On its roof in giant letters, big enough for satellites or pilots to see, are the words: “We can do it.”

The slogan, made famous by Iran’s revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, highlights the country's new drive to tap its oil riches on its own — without Western investment or technological know-how — as Iran faces a threat of tighter U.N. sanctions and American financial pressure over its nuclear ambitions.
The Azadegan field in southwestern Iran showcases the bid: the first major field to be developed solely by Iranian companies. Pumping began in February in the vast oil basin — off limits to the public, but The Associated Press received permission to tour the site recently with a government escort.
The self-sufficiency drive has become a vital test of how well Iran can ride out more Western sanctions — and possibly rake in billions of dollars more in oil revenues as prices hit record highs. It also is shaping up as a political gamble for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the main proponent of using local firms.
Some lawmakers and outside experts contend that Iranian companies will take longer and get less oil than foreign investors often with better technology and project management.
Among the challenges that could frustrate Iranian oil engineers: dealing with high-pressure fields, elevated sulfur content in the crude and water levels inside the wells.
In April, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said Iran needs some $500 billion of oil industry investment over the next 15 years.
This has led Iran to turn to lower-tier oil developers, signing deals recently with Croatian, Malaysian and Chinese firms.
Iran clearly has some homegrown expertise.
Its oil industry — and partnerships with some of the world’s biggest firms — has existed for nearly a century. Iran sits on the second-largest known reserves after Saudi Arabia, and its known natural gas reserves are second only to Russia.
Iranian experts also are involved in oil projects abroad in places including Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Libya, and Iran has developed some smaller fields before. Iran is trying to boost its production from the current 4.2 million barrels a day to about 5 million barrels in the next five years.
OPEC-member Iran earns more than $70 billion a year from its oil exports, bringing in 80 percent of its foreign currency revenue.
But experts say Iran still lacks enough money for investment, in large part because it spends so much on low-cost fuel for its own people, who pay about 42 cents a gallon at the government-subsidized rate.
At the same time, Iran grapples with a severe shortage of refinery capacity — meaning this oil-rich nation suffers from having to import more than 50 percent of its gasoline. The government imposed a rationing system last year in hopes of trimming the amount it spends on subsidized fuel.
The Azadegan field — about 35 miles west of Ahvaz, a city near the Iraqi border — is a prime example of the challenges of going it alone under sanctions.
Iran estimates its holds reserves of about 33 billion barrels, making it one of the largest worldwide.
Iranian officials say Russian and Indian companies have shown an interest in developing Azadegan since, but no deals have been signed.
Since September, Iranian firms have drilled six wells, all now producing, along with two facilities that separate oil and natural gas. The field has produced more than 25,000 barrels of crude a day since February.
Iran eventually hopes to bring production at Azadegan to more than 360,000 barrels a day — with some outside help if it can negotiate deals. For now, the goal is more modest: 65,000 barrels a day by next March.
The 400-member staff developing Azadegan bursts with pride.
“The implementation of this project shows we can do the same sort of activities as foreigners can do. It is no longer important if they don’t come back here,” said engineer Mohammad Reza Khaki, who led construction at Azadegan.
Construction at the Azadegan field was not easy. The area, about 500 miles southwest of Tehran, lies in a former battle zone of the Iran-Iraq war and is rife with unexploded land mines, which are still being cleared.
The National Iranian South Oil Co., linked to the country’s Oil Ministry, also had to scramble to prepare for the $44 million project.