Development of Oil and Gas Areas of Innovation in Iran

Areas of Innovation (AOI) is a concept developed in many countries with the aim of enhancing sustainable economic development by combining variety of different scientific, economical and infrastructural asset within an area. This paper presents some results concerning the conceptual design carried out for establishment of two AOI in southern Iran emphasizing on oil and Gas. The first area is located in Shiraz and Bushehr provinces focusing mainly in gas production technology.The main characteristic of this project is the presence and support of a major gorvernment company(NIGC) to creat an ecosystem for technology development in the natural gas sector. The second area is located in Khuzestan province which is rich in oil fileds. The main characteristic of this project is the strong presence of the private sector, which makes it interesting in a government dominated economy.