Zangeneh: An Individual Bought 30 Oil Rigs Overnight on Ahmadinejad's Order

The Minister of Oil states that an individual, during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency and at his 'request,' signed a contract for 30 oil rigs without going through 'tender procedures.' Bijan Zangeneh said on Saturday (August 12) in an interview with the official website of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (House of the Nation) that the contract for this number of rigs was signed 'in one night.' According to Zangeneh, these 30 rigs include '20 onshore rigs and 10 offshore rigs,' and the contract was concluded 'in one night without following the tender procedures.' He also mentioned the formation of a 'detailed file regarding these rigs' to determine 'the damages and extent of losses in this case.' A member of the cabinet of the eleventh government and the proposed minister for the twelfth government also stated that a 'separate file' has been formed regarding the 'missing rig.' Zangeneh added that all these 'violations' were carried out by 'one individual' who 'performed certain actions at Ahmadinejad's request, the records of which exist.' He did not mention the name of this 'individual,' but stated that 'Ahmadinejad's office issued a written order for these actions to be carried out by this individual.' The Minister of Oil further noted that this individual, in addition to purchasing 30 oil rigs and signing a contract for the missing oil rig, also signed a 'one billion dollar contract for purchasing pipes from abroad.' The issue of the 'missing' oil rigs during Ahmadinejad's presidency has been widely covered in the media since 2013. Iranian parliament representatives stated in 2015 that the Marine Facilities Company purchased two rigs during Ahmadinejad's government, but these rigs never entered Iran. One of these oil rigs, related to the 'Fortuna' rig, was reported missing in late October 2014, when 14 members of parliament wrote to the Speaker of Parliament requesting follow-up on the matter. According to these representatives, the Fortuna oil drilling rig was sold during Ahmadinejad's presidency through a Turkish company to the Marine Facilities Company of Iran, which is under the Ministry of Oil, but this rig was never delivered to the Iranian side. Fars News Agency reported that this oil rig was sold to Iran for 87 million dollars through the Emirati company DEAN, but instead of going to Iran, it went directly to the Gulf of Mexico. A parliament representative also reported in September 2015 extensive 'violations' in the transaction of '25 oil rigs' and stated that he had submitted the 'files and passports' of 12 'violators' to the judiciary. Earlier this month, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, announced the issuance of an indictment for six defendants in the 'oil rig' case. He introduced the oil rig case in the last two years as one of the 'most newsworthy judicial cases and one of the heavy cases of the Economic Crimes Prosecutor's Office,' which is 'very complex in terms of handling.'