TEHRAN (PIN) -- Implementation of new exploration projects requires between 480 and $640 million credit allocation, a senior official at the National Iranian Oil Company says, In an interview with PIN, director for exploration affairs at NIOC Mahmoud Mohaddes said tender bids have been offered for exploration in 16 oil blocks.

"Each block needs 30 to $40 million investment for exploration," he said.

He said that each block needs different investment because of various seismographic, geological and drilling information required for operations.

"We have invited all domestic and foreign companies to bid for the 16 tender bids," Mohaddes said.

The announcement of tender on 16 of the total 51 blocks, chosen on the basis of consumption needs and proximity to oil processing facilities, will be made in about two weeks, he said. The contracts on the 16 blocks, to be done on buyback basis, are 253,000 square kilometers in area.

According to previous reports the oil blocks are: Moghan I and II, Kouh-Dasht, Khorram-Abad, Kermanshah, Bijar, East and West Mokran, Zabol, East Jazmourian, Saravan, Tabas, Garmsar, Saveh, Raz, and Tapeh Marouh.

In a reversal of past practice and in order to improve the attractiveness of the contracts, the NIOC will be able to sign the exploration, description and development phases of each block as parts of the same contract, said Mohaddes who is a member of the board of directors of the NIOC.

The authorization on including the various activities pertaining to a block in one overall contract with the same company was given by the Iranian Parliament as part of the budget law for the current Iranian fiscal year to March 21, 2004.

He said if a contractor manages to come up with a commercially viable field, the NIOC will pay all the expenses involved in exploration and development phases along with a "remuneration" from the sale of the production in the block whose rate is specified in the contract.

Iran has produced 8.6 billion barrels of oil in the past six years but the amount has been compensated for with the discovery of 11.5 billion barrels of new oil.