TEHRAN –  The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has warned that it will stop the $500b oil deal with Belarus oil company, because of the disagreements over development of the project, Mehr news agency reported on Tuesday.

Iran and Belarus signed on September 2007 a deal worth an initial 250 million dollars to develop the Jofeir oil field in southwest Iran.

According to the contract, Belarus oil company (Belarusneft) was obliged to raise the early production capacity of the oil field to 3500 barrels per day, but the company didn’t fulfill its duties.

It is assumed that the field, which lies in an oil-rich region of Ilam province close to the border with Iraq, will have the capacity to supply 15,000 barrels of oil a day in the first phase and then 25,000 barrels in the second phase.

There are 2.1 billion barrels of oil reserves in the field and it is estimated that within the next 25 years through natural extraction 170 million barrels will be extracted.