India has nudged Iran to quickly award rights to develop the coveted Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf to ONGC Videsh by wrapping up negotiations that have been dragging on for months, Energy World Reported.

Indian Oil Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, met Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, early December to press for award of rights to develop the field, which was discovered by OVL. This comes as India plans to invest $20b in Iran’s Chabahar port and in the development of the major Farzad B offshore gas field project, according to Trade Arabia.

In October, the two nations had pushed back the timelines for concluding a deal on Farzad-B field to February from November agreed previously. As it is reported that Iran is unhappy with investment plan submitted by OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), for development of the 12.5Tcf reserves in Farzad-B field and an accompanying plant to liquefy the gas for transportation in ships.

OVL is preparing a Master Development Plan for the gas field while also working on a gas pricing formula keeping in view of the global gas price scenario, sources said. Gas produced from the field can either be converted into LNG by freezing at sub-zero temperature and shipping in cryogenic ships to India or transported through a pipeline via overland passing through Pakistan or sub-sea.