In the early 1990s, the absence and non-cooperation of international companies in Iran's oil fields due to unjust sanctions prompted the National Iranian Oil Company to consider transferring the strategic joint oil field of Azar to a domestic consortium. Hence, an internal consortium consisting of the Oil Pension Fund Investment Company (Ahdaf Investment Company) and the Oil Industries Engineering and Construction Company was formed. In 2012, the Sarvak Azar Engineering and Development Company (SAED) was established as a wholly Iranian entity. SAED successfully obtained a mutual development contract for the Azar oil field from the National Iranian Oil Company, and subsequently, the company was able to achieve successful development of this joint field by utilizing the capabilities of over seventy percent of domestic contractors, producing "30,000 barrels of oil per day" and ultimately "65,000 barrels of oil per day." Since 2016, exports of oil from the Azar field have begun, with over 62 million barrels of oil exported from this joint field to date, generating approximately $4 billion in revenue for the country. SAED has now been accepted in the recent assessment of the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum for selecting exploration and production companies.
The CEO of the Sarvak Azar Engineering and Development Company, Hamidreza Tavasoli, stated that "As a single project company, this entity has been able to independently accomplish a great national project, and as a result, a valuable bank of experiences and a highly skilled team with expertise in all areas necessary for the development of upstream industries has been created in a completely professional manner." The successful experience in developing the Azar oil field led to the company being awarded the gold medal of the International Project Management Association (IPMA Global Award 2021) as the first Iranian company in the mega-projects category. Given the high importance of the achievements, this project was selected and presented as the only project of the Ministry of Petroleum to be reported to the Supreme Leader's office during his meeting with producers and economic activists in February 2022.
Tavasoli stated that in order to continue on the path of success in the upstream oil and gas industries, it was necessary to obtain an exploration and production license. With the approval of the company's board of directors and a change in its articles of association, the company prepared itself to participate in the evaluation announced by the Ministry of Petroleum's engineering, research, and technology department. After the National Iranian Oil Company issued a call for tenders, the company collected the necessary documents and successfully participated in the evaluation.
The CEO of the Sarvak Azar Engineering and Development Company highlighted the company's capabilities and achievements in the past 10 years, during which time it developed and produced from the most complex oil field in the Middle East, independently drilling 19 wells and constructing surface facilities under a reciprocal buyback contract worth 1.4 billion euros. The company is the only Iranian developer that did not have to subcontract the work and has been successful in this regard. The CEO expressed confidence that the company could continue to be successful in future IPC contracts.
He highlighted the company's expertise and experience, expressing that in the short term, the company's first priority is to develop the second phase of the Azar oil field, for which it has a finalized technical proposal and will begin contract negotiations with the National Iranian Oil Company soon. The company's valuable experiences in developing this field over the past decade, along with its ability to overcome challenges, make it the best option for completing the second phase. Moreover, as the company has achieved the rank 2 among E&P companies, it can participate in the development of projects with a capital ceiling of 6 billion dollars. The CEO expressed confidence in the company's capabilities, experience, and expertise, stating that the company will certainly undertake the development of other upstream projects in Iran, and will take another step towards protecting the interests and increasing the profits of investors, especially respected retirees of the oil industry, while also increasing foreign exchange income for the country.